Commentary on the Prophet Micah

COMMENTARY BY OUR HOLY FATHER CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, ON THE PROPHET MICAH

PROLOGUE

^A I. The goal of all the holy prophets is one and equally acceptable to God: to move Israel to firmly abandon their desire to wander, to choose instead to serve the living and true God, to glory in the ornaments of righteousness, and to cast off as far as possible the blame for their most wicked deeds. There have been many prophets in a continuous succession, as God bore witness beforehand and through the mouths of many clearly proclaimed that if they did not wish to live rightly and if they did not choose hereafter to embrace better things and strive for them with all their heart, they would be bringing vengeance upon themselves, and in suffering the destruction they had summoned, they would attribute the causes of the evils that befell them solely to their own will. And if any should think it a fault that the discourses of the holy prophets consist of the same arguments and expositions, let no one accuse them of tautology (that is, of an empty repetition of the same things), but rather let him understand this clearly: that there has never been any time in which there were not also those who could amend those bound by sins and correct them unto salvation. And just as no one, provided he is of sound mind, would find it a matter of reproach that at any time physicians are to be found who drive out the same diseases within us with suitable remedies and medicines, so too, I think, would no one easily rebuke the holy prophets, even if they seem to treat of the same matters and words. For the Lord who was speaking to all was one, and at every time He was showing to those who were going astray those by whose labors they might, as it were, be led back onto the straight path. For they all prophesy ^B of wars, of captivities, of the desolation of cities, of labors, of sorrows, of those upon the

^A dead, and the calamities of those who remain, and the cruelty of the conquerors; and, to speak generally, one might see narrated there every kind of ferocity, for this was necessary for the benefit of those who were going astray. For sometimes a spirit that has broken loose into defection and sin is checked by alarms. ^B Therefore, the blessed Micah prophesies during the time of the reign of Joatham, and of Achaz, and of Ezechia. Indeed, while Joatham was reigning, Phacee, the son of Romelia, and Rasin, king of Syria, made war against Jerusalem. Achaz succeeded him after his death, and as the war was being prolonged, he hired the Assyrian with money and summoned him to bring him aid, as he was unable to withstand the forces of those who were attacking. He, having arrived, took Damascus and also killed Rasin. At that same time, while Jeroboam, the son of Joas, was reigning in Samaria, and after him Azaria, and thirdly Manahem, Phula, king of the Assyrians, went up, who, though persuaded with difficulty by a large sum of money, returned to his own land. After Phula, Theglathphalasar, the Assyrian, campaigned against the land of Judea, and he destroyed a great number of the cities of Samaria, and added to himself all of Galilee as far as Nephthali. These things have indeed been spoken of in detail when we composed the explanation for the blessed prophet Osee, but we have recalled them even now ^C necessarily, because the times of Micah's prophecy have been set forth. For it was necessary—it was necessary, I say—for those who are eager to listen and who love the truth not to be ignorant of the reason why the kings of Jerusalem, namely Joatham and Achaz, were named. But the time of the prophecy extends as far as the reign of Ezechia, during whose rule Senacherib, and he too king of the Assyrians, once again oppressed Samaria and laid waste the cities of the Philistines, that is, the Palestinians. Then, having captured Lachis, a city of the kingdom of Juda, he sent Rapsakes from there to besiege Jerusalem; he, having arrogantly uttered blasphemies against God, paid the penalty when one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrian army were destroyed in one night. So, he says, the word of the Lord came to Micah the Morasthite.

CHAPTER 1.

^A III. For he saw as it were in a vision offered to him the things that were to happen, and gained knowledge not only of the things to come or of present evils actually at the door, but—in so far as it pertains to sight through a vision—fearing the outcome of these things, he necessarily speaks regarding both Samaria and Jerusalem.

VERS. 2. *Hear, O peoples, all of you; attend, O earth, and all that is therein; and the Lord God shall be in you for a testimony, the Lord from his holy house.*

IV. He exhorts them to prepare themselves for prompt obedience, and to bend their ears, as it were, to perceive subtly the power of the divine oracles or utterances. But that this account is not from his own mind or any human will, but from God himself, who is Lord of all, he confirms most certainly, adding: "For the Lord shall be in you for a testimony," that is, he himself. Almost as if he said: Even if I, Micah, am speaking, and even if I, as a man, may perhaps intercede, yet God himself, the Lord of all, bears witness to you, and I lend my voice to the divine oracles. Therefore, that same God will be a testimony to you, to whom you have built this famous and conspicuous temple; to whom a divine altar has been established by you; whom you have learned through the law to follow with adoration; who has always spoken from his house to the holy prophets, and above all others to the blessed Moses, who raised that ancient tabernacle in the wilderness. For he spoke from above the mercy-seat; and, as the holy Scripture says, Moses would speak, and God would answer him with a voice. ^B And now, he says, Micah will testify to you from his house. Wherefore, "hear, O peoples, and let the earth attend." Similar to this is that of Isaiah: "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken." The Most High does not indeed dwell in temples of stone or in works made by hands. But because we profess that holy temples are built to the glory of God, we believe that the God of the universe does not disdain to dwell even in them, although he fills heaven and earth and the things that are beneath the earth.

Not ineptly, moreover, could someone adapt these things to Christ, who calls to salvation not only the peoples of the blood of Abraham, but the whole world. For he has testified, as it were, by the mouth of David, saying: "Hear these things, all ye nations; give ear, all ye that inhabit the world." For who is it that would consider it wrong that the Word descended to us from heaven as from his own and most beloved house? ^C There is nothing absurd, moreover, in calling heaven the house of God, when the divinely inspired Scriptures call even the earthly Zion—which is held to be a type of the Church—both his house and his city. For the divine David sings somewhere and says: "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God." ^D Wherefore, as a city, so also a house

^A of the Church might be considered to be the Church of Christ, according to the nature of the Divinity that fills all things.

VERS. 3, 4. For behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and will step upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be shaken ^B under him. And the valleys shall melt as wax before the face of the fire, and as water flowing in a descent.

V. This discourse is highly obscure and full of enigmas. Nevertheless, this must be said: that although divine matters are expressed in our own words, yet one who is experienced in them, and who has learned to understand a parable, a dark saying, the words of the wise, and enigmas, will understand them accurately and in a manner most befitting the divine and ineffable nature. For his session, throne, and rising are spoken of through the voice of the saints, and furthermore even paths and journeys, and certain other things besides that are humble and human. But, as I said just now, such contemplations as these might reasonably be understood subtly and precisely by those who are good and of perfect mind. For these words are fashioned as though from a likeness and metaphor of things pertaining to us. When, therefore, you hear the prophet saying, "For behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will step upon the high places of the earth," and he adds that the mountains will be shaken and the valleys will melt, then indeed—then, raising yourself a little above things that fall under the senses, ascend by contemplation to subtle thoughts. Understand, then, this "departure" of God from his place as a movement from tranquility for the sake of certain things to be done. For he says ^C almost as much as this: "He who has long shown himself patient is now moved, and hereafter will cease to remain at rest regarding those by whom he is offended; and, as it were, laying aside the gentleness that is dear to him, he will henceforth inflict punishments."

"And he will step upon the high places of the earth"—that is, he will henceforth trample upon those in great eminence, so that we may understand those who were kings in Samaria and in Jerusalem. "And the mountains shall be shaken"—that is, they shall again be moved from their own dignities, those who excelled others and stood very far apart in glory; for such people are not poorly compared to mountains. "And the valleys shall melt as wax"—that is, the humble and base, and those from the middle of the common crowd, although being very hardened and not enduring to yield to divine oracles, as though casting themselves into the fire of divine wrath, they shall melt like wax, and shall become ^D "as water flowing in a descent"—that is, rushing with a swift and unstoppable course down a slope. For, as I already mentioned, the kings of the Assyrians, having hostiley ravaged Samaria itself and the kingdom of Judah, deported some of the kings, and killed all the leaders; and like a runner, and as water rushing down a slope, they carried away the multitude of the people into their own land. This was that water flowing downwards in a descent, and running from Samaria into the land of the Persians and the Medes. The Word of God also went forth from his place

For he was God by nature, and he became man, ^A in whom it may appear that he underwent a movement of sorts, although he is unacquainted with change, being rather rooted in his own nature, and having his standing as God. *He stepped also upon the high places of the earth, and shook the mountains, and melted the valleys, and made them flow as water pouring down in a descent.* And by the high places of the earth, one might understand the intellectual powers that exalt themselves against all things, and the spirits of wickedness. By the mountains being shaken, one might understand the demons who have been cast out of their authority over us. For they have been driven out, and we have henceforth been called to be subject to him who is God by nature and in truth. And by the valleys, I mean the gregarious multitude of demons, base and cast-down, which melted away like wax, and flowed as water into the recesses of hell. For the evil spirits approached Christ and begged him not to command them to go away into the abyss. For since others had already been sent there earlier, those that still remained were terrified by such a prospect. ^B But if anyone should wish to interpret the high places and the mountains and the valleys as the leaders of the Jews, and indeed the peoples under them, who, on account of their insolence toward Christ, were even cast out of their own authority—for they melted like wax, having fallen into the calamities of the war brought by the Romans as if upon a flame of fire, and were brought to nothing and despised like passing water, and were destroyed like melting wax, according to the voice of the Psalmist—whoever might be pleased to interpret these things in such a way will not depart from a fitting aim.

VERS. 5. *For the impiety of Jacob all these things, and for the sin of the house of Israel.*

VI. When he had said that the God of all would ascend upon the high places of the earth, and that the mountains would be shaken by him, and that the valleys would be liquefied like wax and water and flow down, he adds in sequence: *For the impiety of Jacob all these things.* ^C See, therefore, how he speaks of hidden mysteries, and does not limit the force and meaning of the things foretold to sensible objects, but narrates in a rather obscure way the calamities about to come shortly upon the Samaritans and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, which he foreknows. For what terror would it have, and how would it cause distress to the Samaritans, perhaps, or to others, if mountains were shaken? And in what way would valleys melt or descend like water? But he knows, as I said, what awaited the Israelites, and as was fitting, he indicated it. Therefore, he now necessarily introduces the punishments, not as addressing those who are ignorant, I think, but as chastising them, and leading them most rightly toward the will to think what is useful and more becoming. He says, therefore, *For the impiety of Jacob all these things, and for the sin of the house of Israel,* ^D so that it may be understood that the whole of Israel has committed a fault, both toward God and toward men. For he seems to designate as "impiety" the sins against God, but "sins" as those against brothers and fellow countrymen. What is the impiety of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the sin of the house of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?

^A VII. Having named those who came from Jacob as "Jacob," I mean Ephraim, who was in Samaria, he makes their crimes manifest. He states that Samaria is the type of impiety. We do not at all affirm that the region itself is being accused by him; for to think in this way would be great folly. Rather, he calls "Samaria" the things that were in Samaria, such as the calves, Chemosh, Baal, and the things that were perpetrated there against certain people through the greed of the powerful. For he said that they "trampled upon the heads of the poor and turned aside the way of the humble." And in addition to these things, they said: "When will the month be past, and we shall sell our wares? And the Sabbath, and we shall open our treasures, to make the measure small, and to increase the weight, and to make the balance unjust?" He asserts that the sin of Judah is Jerusalem. And if we are wise in these matters, we shall in no way blame the city itself, but rather we shall judge that the things perpetrated in it became a sin for Judah. Furthermore, God rebuked the insolence of the Jews, and indeed said clearly, "For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah, and according to the number of the ways of Jerusalem you set up altars to incense Baal. Why do you speak unto me? You have all dealt unjustly, and you have all acted impiously against me, says the Lord Almighty." He also rebukes them through the voice of the prophet Isaiah, saying: "How has the faithful city of Sion become a harlot, full of judgment, in which righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers? Your silver is dross; your wine merchants mix the wine with water; your princes are disobedient, partners of thieves, loving gifts, following after rewards, not judging orphans, and not heeding the judgment of widows." Therefore, the things that were ^B impiously and wickedly perpetrated in Jerusalem became a sin for Judah, and not so much the city itself.

It is necessary, therefore, to love God with all one’s soul and heart, and to cast off sluggishness toward doing good, and in no way to commit evil against one's neighbor; but rather to win him over with kindness, to exercise great effort to turn away from wicked things, and rather to be devoted to the praises of righteousness. For those who are remiss regarding such holy matters, and who have chosen to be contemptuous, He will inflict things born of wrath, and, as wax in the fire, He will melt them, and as water He will pour them out, deeming us no longer worthy of indulgence and love.

"And I will make Samaria as a watchman's hut of a field, and as a planting of a vineyard; and I will drag down its stones into the abyss; and I will uncover its foundations; and all its graven images they shall cut in pieces; and all its rewards I will burn with fire; and all its idols I will put into destruction."

^D VIII. He clearly indicates what grave things they will suffer who have thus offended God. For Samaria, he says, shall be both as a watchman's hut of a field, and as a planting of a vineyard. For those who guard the things that grow in the fields construct tents, and in them...

^A they remain for a time, protecting them from everything harmful, and then they chase away all harm from them. But when it happens that the fruits are gathered, the guards despise their labors and return home, having overturned the very huts themselves. We shall find that Samaria has suffered this. For because it has transgressed not lightly, and indeed has acted impiously against the God of the universe Himself, dedicating worship to its own boundaries, it was overturned and fell, abandoned perhaps even by the holy powers and angels who had long been ordained to guard it. The blessed prophet Isaiah said something of this sort about it: "And the daughter of Zion shall be left as a hut in a vineyard, and as a watchman's hut in a cucumber field." And how was it left? Because the multitude of the heavenly orders ^B that used to reside by it and protect it, as I said, has departed. Therefore, it shall be "as a watchman's hut of a field, and as a planting of a vineyard," which is as if one were to say: desolate of cities and houses, and changed into the appearance of fields. Or you may understand it in another way, if you please. Those who plant vineyards, once they have occupied the place most suitable for them, tear it up with plows, turning it upside down. This is what He threatens that Samaria will suffer, and that it will be, as it were, arable land, with its cities and houses cut away, as I said. For this reason He says: "Because I will drag its stones into an abyss, and I will uncover its foundations." And besides this, He says it shall even be ^C an object of mockery. For those whom they expected to be their saviors as gods, these also shall perish together with those accustomed to worship them. "And its wages shall be burned," He says, "and all its idols shall go into destruction." By "wages" given to the idols, He perhaps signifies the votive offerings that were hung and dedicated. For they used to dedicate them to the shrines for the glory of the idols, from their own resources, and as a wage or a counter-repayment of what they imagined they had received from them as a benefit, they offered their thanksgivings to those who had no power to help at all. We remember that the Synagogue of the Jews was also accused through ^D the voice of Hosea, in this manner, saying: "And she did not know that I gave her the corn, and the wine, and the oil, and the silver, and the gold I multiplied for her: but she made silver and gold for Baal." Therefore, it is clear that by "votive offerings," the senseless Israel accounted its prosperity as a wage and compensation for its zeal in going astray. You will acknowledge no less that God says again: "And I will destroy her vine, and her fig-trees, as many as she said, 'These are my wages, which my lovers gave me.'" For she thought, as I have taught, that it was by the will of the idols that she abounded in riches, and was in delights, and lived a happy life. Blind, therefore, is the mind of those who go astray. For if it had not been ignorant of the God who is by nature, it would surely have rendered worship to Him rather than to any others, and would have offered to Him the thanksgiving, and [would have acknowledged] Him as the giver and governor of every good thing. To think—

for he was convinced—that he might not have become like a watch-hut in a cucumber field, nor indeed like a vineyard planting; but rather, he would have remained in an unshakable state of prosperity, and, being fortified by heavenly kindnesses, he would have been admired, having reached a pleasant state of calmness. ^A Because "from the hire of harlotry she has gathered, and from the hire of a harlot she has exhausted it."

IX. Again the Word mocks and ironically criticizes the ignorance of Judah with much art. For it makes manifest the derangement of the notion that is in them, and it clearly brings to light what is kept hidden within their mind and heart. For it says: "Rightly and justly indeed did Israel offer thanks to the stones, full of understanding, grateful and wise." ^B It recognized those who had honored it, the authors of its prosperity, the gatherers of its wealth, and those preparing it to be in luxury. For it thinks that these happy successes in affairs are the wages of spiritual fornication; and since it has sacrificed to idols, and worships wood and stones, it believes it will lack nothing in its prayers. "It has gathered," it says, "and has grown rich from the wages of harlotry." It has piled up and gathered; it holds its prosperity to be unshakable. Therefore, we shall interpret the power of these things said in a manner both rhetorical and ironic, with threats interwoven.

"For this reason she shall wail and mourn, she shall go barefoot ^C and naked; she shall make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning like the daughters of Sirens. For her wound has prevailed, because it has come even to Judah, and has touched even to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem."

X. For since she has lived in seductions, it says, and has in no way ceased to grieve her own Master, but has dedicated to carved images the things for which she fares well and is in good spirits, and has pushed impiety to this point, for this reason "she shall wail and mourn." And perhaps she will not grieve for some others—that is, for foreigners—as shedding tears out of love, but rather, overwhelmed by her own calamities. Now nakedness and being barefoot signify the attire of captives. Thus also the blessed prophet Isaiah, indicating to them the captivity that was soon to come, ^D walked around Jerusalem naked and barefoot, as God commanded that the thing be done. Therefore, in her own sufferings she will imitate the lamentings of dragons and the wailings of Sirens. For some say that if a dragon is struck, then indeed it begins to wail as if in danger, and that it makes this known by beating the earth with its tail, and it is accustomed to producing no moderate sound. The Greeks, as well as their children, say that the Sirens are winged creatures accustomed to singing melodiously, and that they have the power to charm those listening with the rhythm of their songs. But divinely inspired Scripture calls the most talkative of birds Sirens,

^A which hatch their eggs by the sea, and then, when their nest is carried off by the waves, they pour out a mournful melody, and in a way lament the loss of their own offspring. In the same way, he affirms that Samaria will lament the destruction of her own children. "For the plague," he says, "overtook them, and reached even to Judah, and as far as the gates of Jerusalem."

It seems to us that by these words the war brought by Sennacherib is implied, who, having captured Samaria and devastated Judea, besieged Jerusalem; and when he had come to the gates, he threatened that he would burn them: yet, with God protecting it, he was not able, in the time of King Hezekiah. Therefore, if we abandon the one, true, and natural Lord, and endeavor to cling to unclean demons, we shall lament ourselves in every way, and groaning over our own follies, we shall be deserted by His grace and help, and we shall live an unsightly and deformed ^B life; this is what the going barefoot signifies. We shall also be subjected to Satan, who strikes us, and there will be nothing left to prevent us from wallowing in every kind of evil.

VERS. 10. *Who are in Geth, do not magnify yourselves, and you who are in Enacim, do not rebuild your house out of derision. Sprinkle your derision upon the earth.*

XI. The discourse is obscure and involved, and the meaning of these words and of those that follow is very difficult to grasp. Nevertheless, I shall attempt to explain it according to my ability. As the war swept over the cities in Samaria, and as others also that were under the ^C scepter of Judah and Benjamin were reduced to power, the neighboring foreigners, and all the neighbors of the Jews, and the surrounding nations, broke out into laughter and mocked Israel, as one altogether destitute of divine help. For they thought that the hand of the Savior had become weak, and that it must needs languish in the face of the onslaughts of the devastators. But it would have been better for them to realize that because they had chosen to grieve their Savior, and had offended God, they had experienced these calamities and had been handed over into the hands of their enemies. But since it was absurd for them to believe—each of them within themselves—that they remained in a happy and flourishing state by the power of their own gods, ^D while Israel had perished and been utterly destroyed on account of the weakness of his protector, for this reason God handed over those very cities of the neighbors to be reduced by Sennacherib to desolation. And accordingly Rabshakeh, speaking to those on the wall of Jerusalem, was calling these very things to their memory, saying: "Where is the God of Emath and Arphad? Where is the God of the city of Sepharvaim, of Ana and Ava? Can they deliver Samaria from my hand?" Therefore, Geth is the metropolis of the foreigners who are called Philistines, of Palestine. And likewise Enacim is a small town lying in the furthest frontiers of Judea, toward the desert in the south; it belonged indeed to the scepter of Judah, but it was no longer of the Jews' mind, but was inclined rather to the neighboring nations, I mean the Moabites and the Idumeans. He says, therefore: O inhabitants of Geth, O dwellers of Enacim, do not...

turn the occasion of a feast day into an opportunity for celebrating; do not boast yourselves because of these things. Since your neighbor house, that is to say, the house of Israel, has been laid waste, therefore, he says, you laugh broadly, as it were mocking the destroyed. Do not build ridicule out of a home, but rather, as you yourselves are about to suffer worse things, scatter your laughter like some kind of soil—the laughter that will be held against you—and lament your own calamities. ^A For the Babylonians will begin to rule over you, and the enemies will smile upon you as you pitifully perish. It is, therefore, a wise thing to remember Him who says: "If your enemy falls, do not rejoice over him, for the Lord will see it, and it will not please Him, and He will turn away His anger from him."

Those who do not know Christ also do this. ^B For whenever the Churches are persecuted and the saints, or those who are contained within them, are put to the test, then especially do they admire their own gods. But their laughter ends in tears, as Christ alleviates those dire things, settles the agitation, drives away that which gives pain, and expands happiness and joy for the saints; for the end of labors is glory and delight. And it seems to me that blessed David says something like this to the God of all: "We went through fire and water, and You brought us out into a place of refreshment."

"The inhabitant that dwells well in her cities, the inhabitant of Sennaar, did not come forth to lament the house that is beside her. She shall receive from you a blow of grief." ^C XII. The Septuagint rendered it *Sennaar*, Aquila *Senaan*, and Symmachus *the powerful*—perhaps this conveys something of the notion of *Senaan*. But if *Sennaar* is read, we say that it is a vast region, inhabited city by city and village by village by foreigners, yet within the borders of Judaea. But if *Senaan* is meant, it denotes a brilliant and preeminent city of Egypt, and a strong one; for who can doubt that the land is fertile and laden with crops? *Sennaar*, therefore, he says, or *Senaan*, which dwells well in its own cities. But the word will come against those who inhabit them; she did not weep for the neighbors who were miserably and wretchedly destroyed. “She did not come forth to lament the house that is beside her,” that is, she did not mourn those who were neighbors. Sennaar is near to Judaea, as I said, and indeed, so is Senaan, that is, the Egyptian one. ^D When Israel was falling and being plundered, she did not pity him, but rather mocked and rejoiced at his fate, just like those from Geth and Enacim. What then, O Israel? Shall the surrounding nations laugh in vain, and will God be patient while they do these things? And will He endure His own glory to be mocked by enemies? By no means, he says, but "from you," or because of you, "she shall receive a blow of grief," that is, she herself shall also be ravaged together with the others. For Sennaar has been plundered, and indeed Egypt also, being overrun by the king of Assyria, when Senacherib attacked them. Wherefore it is necessary, even for one standing securely, to fear,

lest he should fall, and to put away as far as possible the inclination to smile at those who have suffered; rather, one should weep with those who weep, and not show haughtiness because of the calamities of others, but fear all the more that he might fall into similar woes.

VERS. 12. *Who began to dwell in good with pains? For evils have descended from the Lord upon the gates of Jerusalem, a sound of chariots and horsemen.*

XIII. O Gittites, he says, O men of Enacim, O inhabitants of Sennaar, namely Senaan, have you not been struck by the calamities of your neighbors? The fact that Israel, once terrible and intolerable to you, is laid low and given over to destruction, has become for you a motive for laughter. But you thought that God, their defender, had grown weak, and that the works of your own hands had grown strong, and that because of this, force had suddenly burst forth so that you were able to save your cities without toil. Come, then, let us observe from these very events who is by nature and in truth God, ^B and who is all-powerful and distributes assistance to whomsoever He wills. For the cities of Israel were seized and plundered, he says, and so were your own cities, and you suffered a common calamity, as it were. Which city, then, while in pains and in fears of the ultimate dangers—for this is what “inhabiting pains” means—has unexpectedly turned to good, that is, to cheerfulness and prosperity? Is it one of yours? By no means, he says, but rather my Jerusalem. For evils did indeed descend upon them from the Lord: this means, I was offended and I chastised, and I brought the Assyrian upon them, and from my anger came the affliction upon them. ^C Nevertheless, it has ceased, and been scattered by my conquering hand, and by my power, which religiously venerates those who save miraculously. For the calamity shall be only as far as the gates. Now, we know that the Rabshakeh came with a great cavalry to Jerusalem, and almost touched the very gates themselves. Yet he did not take it in any way; for the Assyrian was consumed in a single night. And so the inhabitants of Jerusalem lamented as if they were about to be destroyed immediately, and spent the night sleeplessly weeping. But as the dawn spread over the sky, the miracle appeared. For there lay upon the ground countless dead, so that those who were miraculously saved by God leaped up and said: ^D “In the evening weeping will lodge, and in the morning, exultation.” You see, therefore, how it is the first and only city, compared to other cities, that turns to good, even though it inhabits pains? For God does not utterly desert His own people, but when He has chastised them moderately, He restores them to their former state, and cares not a little for the glory becoming to Himself, even if we offend Him. For He says somewhere through a certain prophet: “Not for your sake do I act, says the Lord, but for my name’s sake.”

VERS. 13. *Habiting Lachis, it is the leader of sin to the daughter of Sion; because in thee were found the impieties of Israel.*

XIV. Moreover, Lachis is a city of the kingdom of Judah, which...

^A is subject to the scepter, a neighbor and borderer of the Philistines, yet it is also remarkably bitter and idolatrous, and zealous against piety toward God and reverence for the law, making it its chief concern to go astray and to ruin others as well. This was perhaps the first city of those under the scepter of Judah and Benjamin to be captured, and from there he sent the Rabshakeh to Jerusalem. "Lachis," it says, which once dwelt well and was securely established, "this," it says, "has become the leader of sin to Sion," that is, to Jerusalem. "For there were found in her the impieties of Israel," that is, the man-made things and no small multitude of false gods. What then does the word wish to signify? It makes an apology, in a way, to the nations of the Gentiles, and attempts to persuade them to be disposed from now on as though the saving God had not grown weak. Since the cities of Judea have dealt impiously against Him, they are handed over to their enemies. "For," it says, "Lachis has become the leader of sin to Sion." The first pretext of apostasy has been given to Sennacherib. Israel has therefore perished, as one may see from the case of Lachis, not because God has failed in power—far from it—but rather because a good mind has failed Him, and it ^B has foolishly clung to the worship of idols.

"For this cause shalt thou give emissaries unto the inheritance of Geth, vain houses. They have been in vain to the kings of Israel, until they bring the heirs to thee, O inhabitant of Lachis, thy inheritance. Even unto Odollam shall the glory of the daughter of Israel come. Make thee bald, and poll thyself for thy delicate children. Enlarge thy baldness as the eagle, because they have been led captive from thee."

XV. Since Israel had been subjected to the movements of His wrath and was paying the penalty for its transgressions against God, those from Geth and the Enacim dared to mock the glory of God. For they thought, as I said before, that He had not saved and defended His own because He had been overcome by the hand of the Assyrians. Then God wished to persuade them regarding this, as from the case of Lachis, that they were given to their enemies because many impieties of Israel were found upon them, and because they had become the authors of sin to the daughter of Sion, that is, to Jerusalem. As God says these things, the blessed ^C prophet, understanding the meaning very well and before all others, welcomes the words, and as if crowning them with his own votes for the truth, he immediately exclaims: "For this cause shalt thou give emissaries unto the inheritance of Geth, vain houses." "Yes," he says, "O Lord, they shall go to the enemies, and shall be sent forth by Thee, having left their fatherland and migrated into Assyria; not only, he says, those in Samaria, but moreover those in Geth: of whom some have become apostates and insolent, and would not endure to follow Thy decrees; while others, mockingly ridiculing the miserable ones, used what had happened as a reproach against Thy glory. Thou, therefore, shalt give emissaries unto the inheritance of Geth, vain houses." For vain are the houses both of Ephraim and of the Gethæi, because they do not sustain the veneration of God, and pay worship to carved images, and relish only carnal things, and, afflicted by earthly things, they ^D

^A make no account of virtue. Then, in the midst of this, the blessed prophet expresses his indignation in a certain manner, and as it were wringing his hands, as he comes to a realization of what was from time to time perpetrated in Samaria. For he ponders the arrogance of the kings, and that the unholy deeds of their perversity have become the very things for which Israel has transgressed. For the calves were their inventions, as were the shrines of the other idols; and they did not cease in every way from provoking the Creator. The prophet, therefore, being vexed, says: “In vain were they for the kings of Israel, until they might bring in heirs.” ^B And it is as if he were to say: The kings did not cease to pursue matters of vanity, until they had fallen into such misery that the portion allotted to them by God came to be for others. And because the Assyrians were about to take possession of the entire land of the Jews, he takes two cities situated on the farthest borders of the whole region, I mean Lachis and Odollam.

CHAPTER II

VERS. 1, 2. *They were devising labors, and working evil upon their beds. And with the day they accomplished them, because they did not lift up their hands to the Lord. And they coveted fields, and plundered orphans, and oppressed houses, and plundered a man, and his house, a man and his inheritance.*

XVI. Rather, they ought to have lifted their hands to God, as when the morning sacrifice was offered according to the law... But their nighttime thoughts and their idle deliberations ^C were of the coveting of others' fields, the overturning of houses, the exercise of tyranny and avarice, and the plundering of a man and his inheritance: and for this reason they were justly cast forth as vain houses, and not knowing how to judge of those things which are pleasing to God. Therefore it is a thousand times better to spurn such things with a great spirit, and to renounce all impropriety, and to drive avarice as far away as possible, and not desiring what is superfluous, to seek food and clothing, and such things as suffice for temperate men to sustain life. “For they who wish to be rich fall into many useless and harmful desires, which sink men into destruction and perdition” (1 Tim. vi, 9). Moreover, ^D it is detrimental to consume one's nighttime leisure with reflections for sinning; but it is good to emulate the blessed Psalmist, thus addressing the God of all: “At midnight I arose to confess to Thee because of the judgments of Thy righteousness” (Ps. cxviii, 62). And again: “O God, my God, from the light I watch for Thee. My soul has thirsted for Thee, my flesh how often for Thee! I remembered Thee upon my bed, in the mornings I meditated upon Thee” (Ps. lxii, 2, 7).

VERS. 3. *Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold, I am devising evils against this tribe, from which you shall not remove your necks, and you shall not walk upright, for it is an evil time.*

^A For since they themselves were devising labors, and doing evil to some, pushing away the lifting of hands to God as fruitless and useless, for this very reason, I too, He says, will devise evils against all such a tribe; that is to say, I will consider the evils, or incurable calamities, in which they might be. And He says that the things about to be brought upon them will be so unbearable and burdensome, that those who suffer them will be like those who have bowed their backs, and in a way will be bent down, being terribly and unendurably weighed down. For, He says, the time will be evil, during which the things from [His] wrath will hang over them. And this, I think, is that which is wisely sung by someone: "For my iniquities have gone over my head; as a heavy burden they have weighed heavily upon me." But our Lord Jesus Christ invited those who were so weighed down to the laying aside of the things hanging over them, saying: "Come unto me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." But while those who honored Him who called them by faith cast off the burden, the Scribes and Pharisees—whom a vacuity of passions saddened—remained righteously laboring and pressed down, and with them another multitude who could not walk upright. ^B Being aware of this, the inspired David cried out to God: "Let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see, and bow down their back always," so that not looking at the things above, nor being able to lift the eye of the mind toward the hope of the holy ones and the beautiful city in the heavens, they might look only at the things upon the earth, all but bowed down, and fixing their insolent and God-hating mind upon temporal and carnal things.

*In that day a parable shall be taken up against you, and a lamentation shall be lamented in a song, saying: We have been miserably afflicted. The portion of my people has been measured out with a line, and there was no one to hinder him from turning it back.*

XVIII. He says that two things will happen at the same time: a parable and a lamentation. And the parable seems to signify that there would be, as it were, a discourse in the mouths of all concerning them, or about them; for extraordinary evils are always memorable, and the report of such things visits cities and lands, and penetrates to the very ends of the whole earth. But the lamentation is the tear and the groans ^C which others perhaps might make on their account, or they themselves, while bewailing their own evils with themselves. Therefore He says: "We have been miserably afflicted." And what the manner of the misery might be understood to be, He clarifies by saying: "The portion of my people has been measured out with a line, and there was no one to hinder him from turning it back." The inheritance, He says, assigned to my own and beloved one—it is clear that this is Israel—has been measured out by enemies, that is, it has been subjected to laws and tributes. For that which is measured is tributary, and pays. Then, when this had happened, and it had occurred beyond expectation, there was no one to prevent it. Where then, therefore, He says, are the calves, Chemos, Dagon, Beelphegor, Baal, and the various ^D idols in the shrines of Samaria? They did not resist those who divided it, they did not help...

their own worshippers, they did not bring wrath upon those who measured the land. Something similar to this he also says through the voice of Jeremiah concerning those from Israel: “And in the time of their afflictions they will say: Arise, and save us. And where are thy gods which thou hast made for thyself? Let them arise, and save thee in the time of thy affliction.” But how could they save others, they who would easily suffer whatever any one might choose to inflict upon them? For they are, I say, they are “the work of the hands of men, silver, and gold, and stone, and wood, deaf and insensible matter.” Let the divine David therefore sing: “Let those who make them be like them, and all who trust in them.” ^B

VERS. 5. Your fields have been divided. For this reason there shall not be one casting a measuring line in inheritance.

XIX. He explains the force of the preceding words. You have been made disinherited, he says, and your region has been measured out, or others have divided it, but you are not permitted to measure your own. We find that the proud Jews suffered this at the time of the coming of Christ. For having treated Him cruelly, they fell away from the inheritances attributed to them. For he was the firstborn, and the most holy Paul confirms that the promises were theirs, and their fathers, and from them was Christ according to the flesh. But being frustrated in the hope and all the glory that followed it, the fullness of the gentiles entered in, and occupied their inheritance. For theirs are the promises, theirs is Christ, theirs are the fathers. They are named children of Abraham, following in the footsteps of his faith in uncircumcision. “For not all who are of Israel are Israelites; nor because they are the seed of Abraham, but they are children of the promise who are accounted as seed.” Wherefore also the divine John, suppressing the pride and empty spirits of the Jews, says: “Produce therefore fruits worthy of repentance; and do not think to say within yourselves: We have Abraham as our father.” Therefore, the foolish Israel has lost the inheritance; but the multitude of the gentiles, as it were, has grown up in their place, and to them Christ distributes the glorious and worthy inheritance of heavenly goods. For they have become fellow-citizens of the angels, and members of the household of God, one body with Christ; and being illuminated by the Spirit in union with Him, they will truly live a most desired life, in holiness, and sanctification, and incorruption. ^C

VERS. 6, 7. Do not weep with tears in the church of the Lord, nor let one weep over these. For He will not cast away reproaches, He who says: The house of Jacob has provoked the spirit of the Lord. If these are his plans?

XX. Does He, therefore, tell me, restrain Israel from wishing to repent, or does He withdraw His gentleness from them, even if they desire to learn what is most appropriate for themselves and to perform what is pleasing to Him in the future? He does not say this. But it is a custom for some, if, when they have sinned,

^A they should happen to be reproved by some wise man, to set the mode of penitence in tears, and to confess their error, and to seek expiation for their transgressions in this and in this alone; but not also to put away the flagrant crimes laid to their charge. Some among the Israelites used to do this, such that at times they would not even spare their own garments. But what says He who beholds the heart and the reins? “Turn to me with all your heart, in fasting, and in weeping, and in lamentation; and tear your hearts, and not your garments.” Since, therefore, they are pouring out empty tears from their eyes and are pretending to speak honest words, while meanwhile they do not desist from their own desires, He teaches that they would not thereby make the Judge merciful and gentle towards them, saying: “In the church of the Lord, do not weep with tears.” Do not make, He says, the divine temple a house of mourning; nor on this account pour out tears, so as to say only in the house of God that one has wept; for such a thing is altogether without profit. ^B Nor let some say that which is written: “The house of Jacob hath provoked the spirit of the Lord.” For one would by no means cover up the reproaches for which he has sinned, even if one should choose to use such honest-sounding words. “If these are his pursuits.” And what, pray, are these, He says? “They were devising labors, and working evils upon their beds. And with the day they completed them, and they did not lift their hands to the Lord. And they coveted fields, and plundered orphans, and oppressed houses, and plundered a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.” Since therefore, He says, such are his pursuits, how would he ward off the reproaches by merely pouring out tears, and confessing and saying: “The house of Jacob hath provoked the spirit of the Lord?” ^C It is therefore necessary for those who have chosen to repent to depart from the charges of wickedness, and thus to weep and to confess to God, already having come to value doing good. For God will not simply look upon tears, and good words, but upon habits and characters. Weeping will be profitable then, when they are seen [as] contributing to the overturning of wickedness and the birth of virtue. For when sin is being destroyed in us, the ways of well-doing begin to exist in its place.

VERS. 8. Nonne sermones ejus sunt boni cum eo? et recti ambulaverunt, et prius populus meus restitit in inimicitiam contra pacem ejus? ^D

XXI. He accuses them again, as those who are accustomed to speak what is good, but who do not have a mind in agreement with their words. For they speak what is right, He says, and very good indeed: for they confess their sins, and they call the Lord kind and good, and they dissemble in many ways; but by their very works they do not spare to provoke Him. And one might see them having become enemies to themselves, and giving away their own peace. For “My own people,” He says, “hath resisted as an enemy against its own peace.” For while it was permitted for them, by worshiping God, to lead a happy and delicate life in a certain perpetual glory and joy, they knowingly and willingly fell away from Him. Hence, having spurned the constancy of peace, as if driven by their own impulses, to their own…

and bring war upon their own heads. That it is not altogether unprofitable for those who have sinned to speak piously to God, or if one should see fit to blush for his own transgressions, we shall demonstrate from the divinely inspired Scripture itself. For it is written in the second book of Chronicles concerning Rehoboam: "And it came to pass, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and he was strengthened, he forsook the commandments of the Lord, and all Israel with him." ^B Thereafter Shishak, the tyrant of the Egyptians, took up arms against Jerusalem, and with as much of an army as he could, marched out from his own land. And after this, Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered together at Jerusalem from the presence of Shishak, and said to them: "Thus saith the Lord: You have forsaken me, and I also will forsake you in the hand of Shishak." And the princes of Israel and the king were ashamed, and said: "The Lord is righteous." And when the Lord saw that they were ashamed, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying: "They are ashamed, I will not destroy them." Then again he says: "And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, ^C and not to destruction in the end. For in Judah, he says, there were good words." You see hence, therefore, how it is not useless to have good words on one's tongue, if at the same time one should blush and be suffused with shame for what has been committed. Therefore, as Paul says: "The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." And likewise Christ Himself said clearly somewhere: "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." It is vain, therefore, as I was just saying, to speak good things about God, when praiseworthy works do not follow.

"They have flayed their skin, that they might take away the hope of the crushing of war." ^D

XXII. Again, he lays the crime and guilt of the people's destruction upon the leaders and rulers. For since the people were not of themselves able to instruct themselves, and lead themselves into a straight and undisordered path, and embrace piety toward God—which they ought to have done most of all—and to cast away the study and veneration of graven images as useless and pernicious, and to flee from it as much as possible, they themselves having become pests and corrupters of their subjects, turned their minds completely into the opposite direction, and, setting God aside, persuaded them to exult rather in those errors. Thus, having offended God, they also fell away from the hope in Him, in which, if they had persevered, nothing would have prevented them from being able to vanquish the enemy. Therefore, as in the case of sheep, he says, because "they stripped off their skin, that they might take away the hope of the crushing of war." As if he were to say: they have stripped them of the coverings of hope, and have divested them of my care and assistance, and thus have made them opportune for adversity and easy to capture. For they were deprived of the hope which was to themselves the crushing of war. For just as the skin is a safe garment for beasts—for a naked bit of flesh is very easily wounded—so too, for us ourselves, a safe garment...

and a kind of skin, is the power of our hope in God. If we possess this, ^A in no way offending God, we shall gain mastery over our enemies, and we shall be superior to every war, both carnal and spiritual. We shall also step upon the asp and the basilisk, and we shall trample the lion and the dragon, as it is written; and we shall sing with confidence: "O Lord God of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in Thee."

Vers. 9. *Propter hoc duces populi mei projicientur de domibus deliciarum suarum. Propter malas adinventiones suas ejecti sunt.*

XXIII. For he says, since those who were able to mislead their subjects with teachings and admonitions—the guides, fathers, shepherds, and overseers—flayed their skin and took away from them their hope in God, through which it would have been easy to crush every war, therefore, deserted by the goods of their home and deprived of what was most dear, and having lost their enjoyment and delights, they will rightly walk toward their enemies, and they will pay a bitter penalty for their sloth and wickedness. And that no one else is the cause of their suffering, but rather that they are the cause to themselves, he makes clear by saying, "For their evil inventions they have been cast out." For nets are not spread in vain for winged birds, according to the Scripture. For they themselves, being partakers of slaughter, treasure up evils for themselves.

We, therefore, shall harm ourselves if we wish to do what is not lawful. We shall be cast out even from the houses of pleasure. For those who offend God will not see the mansions above and in the heavens, and they will remain deprived of the hope of the saints and of everlasting delight. But the wise and the good, and those inclined toward everything that is praiseworthy, will not be among these, he says, but rather they will be gathered in the heavens ^C and will dwell in the mansions above, and they will enjoy the heavenly goods with pleasure.

*Propinquate montibus æternis. Surge et ambula, quoniam non est tibi hæc requies.*

XXIV. He still addresses those who have been allotted the duty of leading. But he uses irony, and as has become a custom, he introduces what is painful as if it were useful. For he says as it were: O leaders of the people, perhaps it seems heavy and burdensome to you to live luxuriously at home, to dwell in one's native land, to live in peace, and to pursue a life worthy of freedom. Since, therefore, as it appears, this is how it pleases you, go to your enemies, flee to Persis and Armenia. "Draw near to the eternal mountains." He means Ararat. He calls them eternal because they would be destined to spend long periods of time in them. Or, perhaps, because they have been famous from of old, ^D perhaps because the ark rested upon them.

This discourse might also be applied to those who lived at the time of the coming of Christ; who, by the [teachings] of the Scribes and...

^A Pharisees, were hindered from accepting the faith. ^B For those among them appeared more prominent, as it were certain mountains, being set in the highest degree of honor and glory by reason of their priesthood. But those things were temporary: for the shadow has ceased, and the typical worship has become as it were antiquated, and the holy race that then existed has already come to an end; for from henceforth the eternal mountains have been revealed, namely, the heralds and ministers of the New Testament, who speak the mystery of Christ, those renowned, most illustrious, and excelling in the heights of virtue. For God calls them mountains also through another prophet, in these words: "And the mountains shall drop sweetness, and all the hills shall be cultivated." For the word of those who speak by God is exceedingly sweet, and sweeter than honey itself to those who truly and most impetuously love God, who can by right say to Christ, the Savior of us all: "How sweet are thy words to my throat! more than honey to my mouth." Let someone, therefore, suggest to these spiritual mountains those who have not yet believed, according to—let us say—a spiritual affinity, and they shall find rest. For they shall immediately cast off the sin that has beset them, even though they had no rest while living under the Law; if it is true, as it is, that the letter gives way, but the spirit prevails. Therefore, let the Jews hear, and [let them hear it] from us: "Arise, and depart, for this is not your rest." Because you have no rest in the Law, depart, and through faith pass over to the discipline of Christ.

"Because of uncleanness you have perished in corruption."

XXV. He calls uncleanness the absurd, execrable, and shameful contamination of idolatry: for it is truly base and indecent. Likewise, there is another mode of filth and uncleanness: "To circumvent brothers in business," to seize what belongs to another; and in another manner also, iniquity is sordid, which harms many. Because of this uncleanness, therefore, you have perished, he says, miserably consumed by the corruption unto death. Those also have perished who are opponents of the faith which is in Christ, and for no other reason but because of uncleanness. This, Christ himself affirms to us, speaking to the incredulous Jews: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you believe that I am he, you shall die in your sins." Or is this not, "Because of uncleanness you have perished in corruption?" For they did not wash away their crimes, nor were they, being unexpiated of their ancient faults, able to obtain salvation from Christ, as those who received the faith did.

"You have fled, with no one pursuing."

XXVI. You have, he says, endured captivity—or flight to strangers, and beyond doubt even to enemies—spontaneously and willingly. For with no one attacking or compelling, they themselves chose to do those things, and that most studiously, through which it was necessary to be punished even against their will. Moreover, the throngs of the Jews fled, with no one . . . ^{C D}

pursuing. For ^A whereas they might have continued to fare well, and to stand in every good thing, having honored Christ, they slipped into apostasy, and stumbled in many ways, being disobedient, abusive, and doing and saying, what evil things would they not? Therefore, since no one is pursuing us, let us pursue ourselves, and having become the authors of incurable evils to our own souls, let us not unfairly accuse God, the giver of all things, but rather ourselves, if we have any good sense and judgment.

VERS. 11. Spiritus statuit mendacium. Stillauit tibi in vinum et in ebrietatem.

XXVII.

The evil dragon, the apostate, distilled also into the Pharisees a false opinion and absurd error regarding Christ. For sometimes they said: ^C “If this man were from God, he would not break the Sabbath,” and at other times they dared even to call him a Samaritan, and indeed a drunkard. And if it is true, “As no one says anathema to Jesus, except in Beelzebub,” how is it not wretched to see that the spirit of lies was set up most especially among them? He distilled also into their mind and heart forgetfulness of Him, through the error by which he deceived them, in which they also justly perished, rushing about like wild beasts with every audacity, and warring with blasphemy.

VERS. 12. Et erit tibi de stilla populi huius. Congregatus congregabitur ^D Iacob. Cum omnibus exspectans exspectabo ipsos reliquos domus Israel. In idipsum ponam aversionem eorum.

XXVIII.

(for there were very many among Ephraim who were accustomed to doing this), all of Jacob will be gathered, he says—that is to say, they will be brought into one judgment, and the disease will lay hold of all things. But I will not punish them for this part by part, but I prefer to wait for those who have joined those already corrupted. For this is what it means: "Waiting, I will wait for the ^A remainder of Israel." And then, then, I say, I will turn myself away from all of them at once.

415 This may also be an argument of the forbearance of God, who does not punish immediately, but kindly procrastinates and waits for the amendment and conversion of those who are wandering. But if this does not follow, and the disease appears rather to be increasing, then at last he turns away, even while delaying. And it is necessary that those from whom he turns away should be altogether wretched. Wherefore also the divine David ^B sings: "Turn not thy face from me, and decline not in anger from thy servant." It should be known, moreover, that Beelzebub instilled into the Scribes and Pharisees a false and sinister opinion concerning Christ, and the disease in a certain way possessed them all, and the multitude was ensnared by the deceits of their leaders. Wherefore, also, undergoing one sentence—namely, of condemnation and aversion—they will pay the penalties according to the gravity of their transgressions.

VERS. 13. *As sheep in tribulation. As a flock in the midst of their fold, they shall leap from men by a disruption before their face. They divided, and passed through the gate, and went out through it. And their king went out before their face, for the Lord was their leader.*

XXIX. It is the custom for the holy prophets to see often, even in visions, the manner in which those things which are predicted by them will come to pass in their own times, and to behold them, as it were, as if they were present and actually happening—things which will be revealed only after many ages. As for example, the blessed prophet Isaiah, in relating the things that were to happen to Christ, and beholding Him, as it were, almost with his own eyes going to His ^C saving passion, says: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before his shearer he was dumb." He asks, moreover, while contemplating in a certain way the places of the nails, and says to Him—perhaps to our Lord Jesus Christ—"What ^D are these wounds in the midst of thy hands?" And He replies: "With which I was wounded in the house of my beloved." The divine Jeremiah, indeed, when he had predicted the war that was to take place against the city of Jerusalem, and already saw a great multitude of the Jews laid low, by a prophetic spectacle, clearly, laments and exclaims: "Woe is me, for my soul faints for those who were slain." Likewise also the blessed prophet Micah, in some such way, sees the tumult that will be in the cities of Samaria, and many already terrified, and others fleeing and leaping over walls and ditches, and the very bands of the enemy breaking through the gates, and together with the leaders themselves, they...

^A press in, while God himself almost fights on their behalf and urges them on against the Israelites, as if He were provoked by them, and for this reason seems to be looking on. Therefore, he says, they will be terrified, just as if a sheep were in distress, or perhaps a whole flock were resting in its pastures, and then some wanted to take them, and one might watch the animals leaping up and down; and if any opening were to be made, they would go through it. In this way, he says, even those against whom the war of the Babylonians would come [will behave]. And as they break through the gates, while the people are watching—that is, before their very faces—they will enter and go out through them. That is to say, they will enter the cities without labor and without any fear, having as their leader the Lord of all, for it was not the work of their own strength to subdue Israel, but of God—the One who permitted it and delivered them over. We maintain that these things also happened to those who raged against the Emmanuel. For their cities and villages were laid waste when Vespasian and Titus were victorious, and were fulfilling the divine wrath upon them. ^B

CHAPTER III

VERS. 1-4. *And he shall say: Hear now these things, O ye princes of the house of Jacob, and ye that are left of the house of Israel. Is it not for you to know judgment? You that hate the good, and seek the evil: that pluck off their skins from them, and their flesh from their bones? As they have devoured the flesh of my people, and have flayed their skin off them: and have broken, and chopped their bones as for the kettle, and as flesh in the midst of the pot: so shall they cry to the Lord, and he will not hear them: and he will hide his face from them at that time, because they have wrought evil in their devices against them.*

^C XXX. The Lord himself is the leader of those who are attacking Israel, opening the gates for them, smoothing everything out for them, and removing the difficulties so that they might henceforth advance with great ease and take possession of those who resist without effort. *And he shall say to the princes and to the remnant of the people*: he has put "he shall say" for "he shall address." And indeed he rebukes the magistrates for their sloth, and because, having neglected those whom they had under their authority, they have become their plagues and destroyers. However, he warns those who are subject and who have been led astray by the perversities of their princes that the punishment was sent upon the guilty on account of the sins admitted against them. ^D For the Creator of all—He who created man for good works, which, as the divine Paul writes, *God hath prepared that we should walk in them*—also cares for those who have gone astray. What then, he says, *Is it not for you to know judgment?* Now by judgment he means the just and blameless sentence passed upon them, that is, the decision. It is fitting, however, to understand in this passage the knowledge of judgment, not merely in terms of cognition; for what would that have damaged the guilty of those sins? Or in what way would it have made those bound in impiety suffer? But insofar as they themselves, who are accustomed to sin, by experiencing the future punishments

^B and the power which they have, are said to learn well the magnitude of the Lord’s judgments. It is therefore necessary for us above all, he says, to learn the judgment through the things that will happen; you, who are always inclined toward evil, and who pursue no interest in the good; you who mount a certain savage and untamed attack against my concerns, and who yield nothing to the most ferocious of beasts, who skin my sheep, fray their flesh, and divide them without mercy, and all but cook them in pots. By these things, he signifies every kind of avarice, greed, and tyranny. Since, however, they have done these things, they themselves shall cry out, he says; and I shall not deem them worthy of my inspection: nor, if they should cry out, seeking mercy, shall I grant it to them. For they themselves also treated those subject to them malignantly, and brought forth every kind of wickedness, and bitter and impious devices and machinations against them.

One could also very fittingly apply these things to the Scribes and Pharisees. The leaders of the peoples, and those placed in charge of the flocks, fell upon the common people, as if upon sheep, without restraint—upon those who believed in Christ, specifically—and almost flaying them, they tore them apart, and devoured the holy ones, differing in nothing from wild beasts. Wherefore they also heard God speaking beforehand through the voice of Isaiah: “When you stretch forth your hands unto me, I will turn away my eyes from you: and when you multiply prayer, I will not hear you. For your hands are full of blood” (Isa. 1, 15).

^C Vers. 5. *Thus saith the Lord upon the prophets, who seduce my people, who bite with their teeth, and preach upon them peace, and it is not given into their mouth, they have stirred up war against him.*

XXXI. He was accusing the Israelites vehemently, as ones who had cast themselves willingly into ruin, and had cast themselves forward into miseries, and were held by great sloth and languor. He added also that they were grievously punished, because a wicked and unclean demon was always deceiving them and compelling them into fraud. Thus he said: "Draw near to the eternal mountains. Arise, and walk, for this is not your rest. Because of uncleanness ye are corrupted with corruption. Ye have fled, with no one pursuing. The spirit has established falsehood. He has dropped for thee into wine and into drunkenness" (Mich. 2, 10, 11). For this reason ^D he rebuked not lightly those who had obtained authority over the people. But now he directs the word opportunely to the prophets and seers among them, who, as it were, used to drip what they had from the wicked and unclean demon into the wine for them—those lies and impostures, clearly. Thus, already wrapped in a kind of drunkenness, they drove them from the sanity of a sound mind. For they used to bite, and they injured them no little by persuading them with their words, convinced

rather to assent to them than to God through the holy prophets. They lied, saying that they would pass their lives in peace and prosperity, and that nothing of a sad or troublesome nature would cause them annoyance. But this speech of theirs did not flow from God. Nor was it granted to impure tongues to utter things so brilliant and worthy of reception. But since they had persuaded them to pay attention to them, they stirred up war against them—not because they themselves had impelled the Assyrians from somewhere, but because they kindled against them the just wrath of God. For because they gave their ears to them, they were rightfully overwhelmed by the disasters of war as well. ^A This crime, therefore, is most truly and aptly charged against the chief priests and the Pharisees, whom the wretched multitude of the Jews followed, [and] becoming impious and the executioners of their own Lord, they thus perished and fell. VERS. 6. Propterea nox vobis erit ex visione, et tenebræ vobis erunt ex divinatione. Et occumbet sol super prophetas, et contenebrescet super eos dies. ^B XXXII. For, he says, because you have distilled falsehood into wine and drunkenness for the people, and you have bitten them like wild beasts, and have announced peace, speaking lies to them, and have thus made them opportune for the calamities of war, therefore, justice dictates that night will come upon you, and darkness, however much you assume the mask of those who see, and strive to prophesy excellently and without falsehood in your own judgment. For the sun will set for you, and the very light of the day will darken. And we do not mean that the sun truly withdrew its rays over them, or that the light of the dawn was obscured; but that the bitterness of the calamity became for them akin to darkness, ^C and obscure night, and the setting of the solar ray, and the contraction of light—and, in short, what did not occur [to them] of such things? For terrible and extraordinary evils inebriate the mind, make the heart turbulent, and fill it with darkness. But one may truly say that for the Jewish people who wantonly injured Christ, the sun has set in an intelligible way, God no longer illuminating them, but as if the night of sin had been poured upon them. For they have been blinded, as Paul says: "But when Moses is read, a veil lies upon their heart." ^D Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and their foolish heart was darkened. And that these things would happen to them, Christ declared beforehand, saying to them: "While you have the light, walk in the light, lest darkness should overtake you." But because they did not accept the divine light, that is, Christ, they were overtaken by darkness, and night was made for them out of vision, according to the word of the prophet. This same thing will also happen to the inventors of heresies, who, pretending to see and asserting that they can penetrate the mystery of Christ with their intelligence, lie, O miserable [ones], and [pour] the ruin of their own fallacies into the hearts of the simple,

^A and then they lead them away from the dogmas of the truth. "There shall be for them therefore night from vision, and darkness," and they shall indeed go down into the outer darkness, having sinned against the brothers, and striking their weak conscience, "for whom Christ died."

VERS. 7. And they shall be confounded who see dreams, and the soothsayers shall be mocked, and all of them shall speak against them, because there is no one who hears them.

XXXIII. For they used to prophesy that there would be much peace, and by catching those who approached them with frigid dreams, they made them feel ^B as if all things would flow according to their will, and as if the things they desired would certainly come to pass. But after it was found that the outcome of events clashed with their words, and it happened entirely contrary to what they had hoped, they were necessarily condemned as false speakers, as flatterers and impostors; and they even contracted such a stain of ignominy that no one wished to pay attention to them. For how, or why, when they were speaking good things, have they cast those who were led astray into unexpected calamity, and as far as possible from the things they had hoped for?

VERS. 8. Unless I have filled him with power in the spirit of the Lord, and with judgment, and with might, to announce to Jacob his impieties, and to Israel his sins.

XXXIV. He shows that those who have a feigned reputation for prophecy must lie through and through, and in every way. For how could he speak truth who does not speak in God, who is truth? For concerning Cain, Christ says somewhere: ^C "He was a murderer from the beginning, and he did not stand in the truth, because he is a liar, as is his father." He gives him as father also the inventor of the lie, namely, Satan. And who can doubt that those who speak from a diabolical spirit must speak the things he suggests, which are lies? But those who speak through God cannot but speak excellently, and say true things, because they have the truth in themselves. He says, therefore, how could the word of certain men, claiming to be prophetic, not be false and deceptive, if I have not filled them through my spirit, with a certain power, and justice, or judgment, so that they may fearlessly and confidently rise up against those who have sinned, and rebuke them? For it is necessary, I think, for those who speak about divine things to have manly boldness, and indeed a great deal of it. For they sometimes rebuke entire peoples, ^D and indeed also kings, and those who are in high positions, who are in fact especially hostile to those who wish to correct morals, and who make the speech of those providing them benefit hateful. The blessed prophets have grown weary, nay more, they have risked dangers, and the wicked anger of those whom they were instructing has sometimes been aroused against them, and they have been killed in various ways. The divine disciples were also scourged. For, full of virtue, and judgment, and justice in Christ, through faith in Christ to the God of the Jews

they brought the flocks. But they rejoiced being afflicted, and gladly departed from the councils, because they were deemed worthy to suffer shame for His name. They knew that having suffered with Christ, they would also reign with Him.

VERS. 9, 10. *Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, and the remnant of the house of Israel. You who abhor judgment, and pervert all righteous things. You who build Sion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquities.*

XXXV. Since that Creator is exceedingly good, and was not ignorant of the magnitude of the opposing misfortunes that were about to oppress them, He employs every method and uses every kind of warning and threat, if perhaps those who have sinned might be persuaded, and might choose to repent, learning the better ways, and, having chosen to act rightly, might thereby easily escape the punishments that would otherwise be inflicted from the anger of God. It must, however, be known by the one who is eager for learning and most fond of literature, that while the discourse of the prophets in the Books and sacred histories is continuous, it was delivered at various times and in sections. Therefore, even if they sometimes seem to be saying the same things, it is nevertheless reasonable to understand that—as I said—they were not speaking at one time, nor to the same people, but often, with long intervals intervening, they addressed different things to different people according to the time. For it was necessary that all the things about to happen be known, and that the common calamity be announced to all mortals throughout the earth. To you, therefore, the discourse is directed, He says, you who have now reached such a peak of stupor that you abhor judgment—that is, justice—and pervert the law that properly leads to good understanding. To you who perhaps imagine that you can restore Sion through murders and unjust blood shed in wickedness, and render Jerusalem glorious and conspicuous. But it were better to consider that they are rather destroying it, even though they were appointed for edification and amendment, as indeed they were the leaders of the flocks, priests, and guardians of the law appointed by God.

Truly, however, they have destroyed Sion in blood. For they killed the prophets, and added to them the Lord of all, I mean Christ. For being the builders of Sion, they rejected Him; even though God clearly said: *“Behold, I place in the foundations of Sion a stone, chosen, corner-wise, precious, and he who believes in Him shall not be put to shame.”* But, as I said, the builders of Sion rejected the chosen and precious stone. *“Nevertheless, he is set as the head of the corner.”* For Christ has reigned over the heathen and those of the circumcision, whom He also built into one new man, making peace through the cross, and joining them together as it were into one corner in the concord of the Spirit. For it is written: *“That the heart and soul of the multitude of those who believed was one.”* Since, however, they have become conformed through sanctification and faith ^D

to the cornerstone and most precious one, the divine Peter also writes well and wisely: *“And you yourselves, as living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house, into a holy temple, into a habitation of God in the Spirit.”* For God dwells in the hearts of those who believe. And concerning them, He says somewhere through the voice of the prophet: *“I will dwell in them, and I will walk about, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”*

VERS. 11-12. *Their leaders judged for gifts, and their priests answered for a reward, and their prophets divined for silver, and they rested upon the Lord, saying: "Is not the Lord among us? No evil shall come upon us." Therefore, on your account, Sion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall be as a fruit-watcher’s hut, and the mountain of the house as a forest thicket.*

XXXVI. Of the Unjust Judgment and the Love of Gain

Furthermore, it is entirely wicked to make piety an occasion for profit and to consider divine things a way of acquiring money. I see how He does not let go unaccused the prophet and priest who seek a reward, as if commanding that it be announced to those who approach them—should they choose to offer payments and gifts—that their favor might be bought. I think that the discourse here mentions the false prophets again, and not those entirely performing holy rites according to the law and in truth, but those who were accustomed to cunningly insinuate themselves into such honors and to procure for themselves that glory for a price. For a holy prophet, or a priest who is truly such, would not bind his own soul with such transgressions. Then, when they were sinning in this way, he says, they rested upon the Lord, saying: ^D *“Is not the Lord among us? No evil shall come upon us.”* For the Lord of all was indeed, without controversy, in Israel; He delivered them from the miseries in Egypt, He brought them into the land of promise, and He showed them to be better and stronger than their enemies. But >

^A one ought certainly to have considered that God would by no means remain with those who sin grievously and are condemned for such monstrous deeds. For it is incompatible for the holy to be with the profane, and for the pure to be joined to the defiled. Since, therefore, they had harbored vain thoughts, thinking that even if they were workers of wickedness and chose to do things beyond all evil, God would nevertheless remain with them, He says that they shall learn from the events themselves. "For Sion shall be plowed," and that celebrated Jerusalem shall be "as a fruit-watcher’s hut," that is, desolate and destroyed. And the very "mountain of the house," that is, the temple on the high hill, shall be "as a forest grove," similar to saying, a lair for wild beasts and a den for dragons. For just as wild beasts and wild breeds of reptiles dwell in the mountains and woods, so too [it shall be] in the places reduced to solitude, and where many ruins are visible.

For these things have happened to the crowds of the Jews, because they have also acted insolently toward Emmanuel Himself. For then, truly then, they have utterly perished, and "not a stone remained upon a stone," according to the voice of the Savior. ^B And that formerly venerable and admirable Sion has now been shown to be plowable land and suitable for farming. Nevertheless, it must be known that God will be in us, not if we have faith alone, nor if we merely rest in that, but if we add to our faith the adornment of good works as well. "For faith without works is dead," as it is written. But when good works run alongside the virtues of faith, then, then God will also be with us, and He will readily sustain us, and He will treat us as friends, and will gladden us as those who are legitimate, and will deliver us from every evil.

CHAPTER IV.

^C XXXVII. In these words, the prophecy of the Church to be gathered from the nations is henceforth clearly seen. For, with Israel according to the flesh as it were taken out of the way, and the sacrifices according to the law ceasing, and the priesthood of the blood of Levi also falling silent, and that once-famous temple itself having been burned down, and Jerusalem destroyed, Christ manifested the Church from the nations; and as in an end-time, that is to say, at the consummation of this age—for then it came to be in our time. He calls the Church a "mountain," which "is the house of the living God." And it is "high," because there is nothing humbler or more depressed ^D in it; but it is raised

^A by the knowledge of the dogmas concerning God, and the life of those who are justified in Christ and sanctified in the Spirit is also built on high. For there is nothing in them that looks downward to the earth and is cast down to the level of brute animals, as one might see indeed even in those who are of the circumcision. For the latter have been overcome by fleshly affection and shameful gains, and they were caught for killing unjustly, and they are guilty of many other transgressions of every kind. But those of Jesus Christ, as the inspired Paul says, "have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." They are so averse to the desire of accumulating wealth that you might hear them crying out with boldness: "Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, and a snare of the devil, and into many and useless desires, which drown men in destruction and perdition." They abstain from killing to such a degree that they even offer the other cheek to those who strike them on the right. ^B One could also understand the "mountain" differently, by comparing the Church with the dogmas of the Greeks. For those men most foolishly teach that one ought to worship stones, and wood, and even the creature itself. But the Church sets forth clearly the One who is by nature and in truth God, who fashioned this whole universe and preserves it for its well-being, and as God, is Lord of all things. Indeed, that the "mountain of the Lord" is "raised above the mountains and hills," and is "prepared," signifies that it is, so to speak, situated in much conspicuousness. For what is placed on a mountain is seen from every side, and is presented to the eyes, and is perhaps unknown to no one, even to those who are far away. But that the peoples will most eagerly hasten toward it, the prophetic word clearly demonstrates. ^C The outcome of these events itself has testified to this and proven it to be true. "For," he says, "peoples will hasten to it," clearly to the Master of the house—that is, to Christ. And what will they say? "Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of our Jacob, and they will show us his way, and we shall walk in it." Do you hear how they exhort one another, as if turning their backs on their enemies, saying, "Let us ascend"? Rightly and prudently, I would say, for they are not ignorant of the lowliness and abjectness of the Greek dogmas, and they cry out "Let us ascend," as they henceforth leap to the heights, so far as concerns the knowledge of the One who is by nature and in truth God. They yearn for righteousness, and have thirsted to learn the way of the Lord. And they promise to ^D go, and very zealously, in his paths. And who would these teachers and monitors be? Who, if not the disciples of the Savior, to whom the divine command has been entrusted, to whom Christ said: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all things whatever I have commanded you."

VERS. 3. For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many peoples, and He shall rebuke strong nations, ...

even unto a far country.

^A XXXVIII. The countless and innumerable throngs of nations, seeking the mountain of the Lord, that is, Jerusalem, and desiring to learn the way of the Lord, and readily promising to walk therein, here set forth the cause why they no longer wish the burdens of the law to be imposed upon them, nor to hasten toward Judaism. For before the coming of the Saviour, while the laws and institutions of the nations still stood, some who served error would approach, and, bidding farewell to the evils of idolatry, would then be circumcised in the flesh, and strive to live according to the customs and laws of the Jews. A vast multitude of such people was seen among them. And thus Solomon, when he contemplated building that august temple in ^B Jerusalem, chose one hundred and fifty thousand stonemasons, workmen, and proselytes: for so we read in the Books of Chronicles. What was then done was, therefore, a type and adumbration of a mystery; for they were destined to build for God a true and visible temple—namely, the Church—not so much by Jews, as by those from among the nations, who carry within them the Jew who is in secret, and possess a circumcision not of the flesh, but of the spirit. Therefore, before the coming of the Saviour, some of the idolaters would come and live according to the laws of the Jews. But when finally the mountain of the Lord was revealed, truly visible and manifest, they hasten to it all the more, rejoicing and saying, "For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." They seem to wish to imply, and ^C to proclaim quite clearly, that Sion will be deserted by the law itself, and Jerusalem stripped of divine oracles. For in a manner the word of God, which was spoken through an angel, has departed from them. For the shadow has been emptied out, and the things done through types have ceased, the sacrifices have been taken away, and all things of Moses are finally, so to speak, finished, as far as the letter is concerned.

But since Christ was to judge and rebuke many nations, they in a way prophesy and foretell that He is to judge and rebuke; yet it is necessary to say how and in what manner He was to do this. For by persuading them to abstain from the ways of error, and by clearly showing that they are rushing to perdition if they do not choose to live rightly, and by cleansing away the stains of ancient sins, ^D He judges and rebukes in a way, and not only one nation, but "even unto a far country," that is, unto the ends of the world: for everywhere the word of salvation is praised. "For this Gospel," He says, "shall be preached in the whole world." But the prophetic word seems to reveal to us yet another subtle and hidden mystery. For it recounts in a way how those coming from the nations would receive the word of God, and, having abandoned that ancient error, would thenceforth proceed to the mountain of the Lord, that is, to the Church. For, it says, from the Sion on high, and Jerusalem, which

^A is of the mind, shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord. For the Word of God has descended to us from heaven, who has become for us both law and lawgiver, and He Himself “shall judge among many peoples, and shall rebuke strong nations unto a far-off land.” But what might the meaning be of “He shall judge and rebuke,” according to what has come to my mind, I will say. Satan exercised tyranny over all, and together with the wicked powers with him, he waged war against the entire world under the sun; and having imposed the yoke of his greed upon all, he led the race of mortals away from God. But God appeared to us, as it is written; the good shepherd was seen at last, and He rescued the deceived from that man's greed, and condemned the deceivers, and rebuked those who had done wrong, that is, the principalities and powers of the ruler of this world, the “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” ^B And Christ Himself makes this clear to us, saying: “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto myself.” For He pronounced judgment for many and innumerable peoples, obviously for those who had been wronged, and He justified them in mercy and faith. But He cast out the prince of this world and drove him from his dominion over us, as a wicked one and a murderer, rebuking him for attempting to claim the whole world for himself. With him were rebuked all the other nations of demons, once hostile and strong, not hovering about a single city, but scattered even to a far-off land, that is, to the ends of the world under heaven. For they distributed the earth as if it were theirs, nor could any mortal escape their perversity.

Vers. 4. *And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; and nation shall not take up sword against nation, and they shall not learn any more to wage war. And every man shall rest under his vine, and every man under his fig tree, and there shall be none to make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord Almighty has spoken these things.* ^C

XXXIX. All things have become new in Christ; and Paul speaks the truth, saying: “In Christ there is a new creation, and the old things have passed away.” For the very condition of things has changed for the better, no longer suffering wars and battles, which, because of every sort of calamity they bring, are truly intolerable to everyone. For the changing of the instruments of war for the use of labors by countrymen, and for each individual to rest, as the prophet says, “under his own fig tree,” and indeed also “under his vine,” and for there to be “none to make them afraid,” what else does this indicate to us than that there shall be a deep and unending peace, and a time without war? And these things were fulfilled at the times of His coming. And so Christ Himself said: “My peace I give unto you.” When, however, did peace come to the world, or how? Since, at last, the sovereignty of the Romans, and their most illustrious empire, conquered the world and brought it under one yoke ^D

the nations ceased from war with one another and turned to the works of peace—it is clear, to the cultivation of the land—and each one dwells safely in their own cities. For before the Roman hand gained control over them, wars and the displacement of lands and cities occurred everywhere; those who wished to do so could plunder whomever they chose, and take and carry off the goods of others as if they were victors. There was a necessity for those in every land and city to be well-trained in the implements of war and to practice military tactics, in order to defend themselves and their children. But since the strength of the empire has now been fortified, such things have ceased. And the implements of war have been changed into axes, and sickles, and, indeed, into plowshares, and they were transformed into other such things from then on.

If someone wishes to look at what is set before us spiritually, he will understand again that because Christ, out of His own gentleness, grants us peace and destroys the powers that formerly harassed those who wished to be pious, we have ceased from fears, have become free from invasion and battle, and have turned to the cultivation of spiritual things, and are gathering the fruits of justice, and we rest finally under the fig tree and the vine. ^B And the fig tree shall be a symbol of sweetness, and the vine, indeed, of intelligible joy. For the word of the Savior is very sweet, and it knows how to gladden the heart of man, according to that which is written. Moreover, the hope for the future, with which we have been enriched in Christ, is sweet and full of joy.

*For all the peoples will walk, each one in his own way, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and beyond.*

Those who have made it their eagerness to ascend into the mountain of the Lord, and who wish to learn His ways, ^C promise ready obedience, and accept the boasts of the life in Christ, and indicate to us most beautifully through these things that they will apply themselves to the pursuits of piety with all their strength. For he says, "Each one of those who are in every land and city will walk in whatever path he himself chooses, and will live and order his life and habits according to his own judgment, or as it seems profitable to him." But our concern is Christ, and we shall consider His oracles the straight path, and we shall walk—as it were—with Him, and not only in the age that is present and that which has passed, but even far ^D beyond. The word is true. For those who suffer together now will walk together always, and will be glorified together, and will reign together. Christ is truly the care and concern for those who prefer nothing before His love, who cease from the vain distractions of the world, and seek rather justice, and what is pleasing to Him, and to excel in virtues, just as the divine Paul also was. He writes, therefore, that "I have been crucified with Christ. Yet I live; and"

dicavi me aliquid scire inter vos, nisi Jesum Christum, et hunc crucifixum.

^B Vers. 6, 7. In die illa, dicit Dominus, congregabo contritam, et ejectam recipiam, et quos repule- ram. Et ponam contritam in reliquias, et repulsam in gentem potentem, et regnabit Dominus super eos in monte Sion ex nunc et usque in sæculum.

XLI. That Israel ^B cannot by any means fall away from hope, he shows again. For he was indeed crushed, and became one put away—that is to say, he was cast off because of very great impiety; for he was a God-fighter and an idolater, detestable and profane, and in no small measure involved in the crimes of homicide. For they killed the prophets, and finally, reaching the end, they even crucified the Savior and Redeemer of all; nevertheless, because of the fathers, the remnant found mercy and salvation, and they became a great nation. For it is true, and altogether reasonable, that by a very great nation we should understand the holy multitude of those justified in Christ. And the excellency of this nation, and the things for which it might be held in admiration, are its goods of soul and the adornments of the heart—that is to say, sanctification, hope in Christ, genuine faith, admirable virtue, stupendous patience, and that the kingdom is Christ's own, and that they adhere to Him as master. "For one is your master, Christ." And when the dead ^C have risen, "And we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord." He calls the mount of Sion the heavenly Jerusalem, the mother of the firstborn, in which we shall also be with Christ Himself.

VERS. 8. Et tu, turris gregis squalidi, filia Sion. Ad te veniet et ingredietur principatus primus, regnum ex Babylone filiæ Jerusalem.

XLII. The works of gentleness are announced to those who have endured labors. He says, furthermore, that He will receive the one once crushed, and place her as a great nation. Yet meanwhile He accuses, and profitably rebukes her, that she has become utterly wretched, and has been crushed and cast aside. For, as the blessed Paul says, "Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation not to be repented of." He strikes, therefore, out of love, and because she did not care to avoid experiencing of her own accord and voluntarily anything hard and bitter, on that account He wounds her with rebuke. He names Sion, or Jerusalem itself, the tower of the squalid flock, ^D speaking as it were with affection, and being not far from sorrow on her account: O Sion, or Jerusalem, miserable daughter, O miserable and dark dwelling-place of my sheep, thou shalt be exposed altogether even against thy will to the enemies. For it will come, it will come, and not in much time, upon thee the

terrestrials, that which is preeminent and most robust, namely the Babylonians. He calls Sion—that is, Jerusalem—a squalid, dark dwelling-place, because all its inhabitants walk as if in darkness, for they do not wish to make the law of God a lamp and a light for themselves, nor to admit His illumination into their heart. For thus, and not otherwise, would it have been possible to run a safe path from error, to avoid the pit, to leap over sin, and not to stumble into the bad things that occur in the interval.

Let us then sing ourselves, saying to God: "Lighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death, lest at any time my enemy say: I have prevailed against him" (Ps. XII, 4, 5). For enlightened by the divine light, and having received into our mind the beam from the wisdom of God from above, we shall be impregnable to our enemies, escaping the things that come from divine wrath, and we shall be in the good of the joy from above, and in Christ we shall assuredly fare well.

VERS. 9, 10. And now why hast thou known evils? Was there no king in thee? or hath thy counsel perished, because sorrows have seized thee as of a woman in travail? Grieve and be manly, and draw near, O daughter of Sion, as she that bringeth forth, for now thou shalt go forth out of the city, and shalt inhabit in the field, and thou shalt come even to Babylon. Thence shall the Lord thy God deliver thee, and thence shall He redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. ^C

XLIII. There shall come to thee, he says, the first principality. But what, then, is the pretext because of which thou art so crushed by terrible evils, that is, by the calamities of war, in which there is affliction? "Was there then no king in thee?" Or hast thou not studied to consult wisely for thyself, and to make the best plans for thyself? He rebukes her again skillfully, and reproaches her obliquely as being utterly unwise, and not shrinking from offending God. I will briefly explain the manner. The God of all things reigned over those of Israel in the beginning, with the all-wise Moses as mediator and intercessor; then after him, Joshua the son of Nun was assumed as leader of the army; then through the judges raised up from time to time, and after them through the blessed Samuel. While their affairs held this course, and were flourishing most excellently, the wretched [people] consulted badly for themselves; and having cast off the yoke of the kingdom of God, they approached the blessed Samuel with these words: "Behold thou art grown old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways; and now appoint for us a king, to judge us, as also all other nations." And the saying was evil, he says, in the eyes of Samuel, as he said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the Lord; and the Lord said to Samuel: "Hear the voice of the people in all that they say to thee; for they have not rejected thee, but me, that I should not reign over them" (1 Reg. VIII, 5, 6). Then, as the blessed Samuel was announcing the law of the kingdom to them and terrifying them with many such dire threats, and ^D calling them back most sharply from such frivolous and impious deliberations, they nevertheless persisted, saying:

^A “No, but a king shall be over us, and we shall be like the other nations, and our king shall judge us, and he shall go out before our face, and shall fight our battle.” He therefore brings back to them the memory of those ancient and perilous designs, and, in a manner of speaking, mockingly ridicules their downfall, saying: “How have you known evils? Was there no king for you? Or did your counsel perish?” Did you not ask for a king, he says, when you said: “He shall go out before our face, and shall fight our battle”? Did you not, therefore, counsel well then? Behold, the outcome of events shows how fitting and necessary your counsel was. You have cast off the yoke of the kingdom of God. “Behold, sorrows have seized you as a woman in labor.” Therefore, bear it, and act manfully, O daughter of Zion. ^B The discourse again pauses. For he says: O good daughter, be patient towards the pains, endure the griefs; draw near to the birth: that is, you shall not be far from what is expected, but like a woman already near to labor you shall wail with pains, and, having left your well-fortified cities, you shall dwell in a tent, in the field, and you shall remain, he says, in solitude. You shall come even unto Babylon itself. But he does not leave her utterly destitute of consolation: for he adds that she will escape by flight, and will be transported by God who has mercy. ^C Most wise, therefore, is it to remain under God and to acknowledge Him as King, and to make Him one’s virtue, protector, and helper; to submit the neck of one’s soul to Him alone, to live according to His will, and to esteem what is pleasing to Him above all things. But if we do not do this, we shall in every way and altogether bear the yoke of the Babylonians—by whom I mean the adversaries and unclean powers, and the first principality, that is, the Satan—and as if cast out from the holy city, whose artificer and founder is God, we shall inhabit the city of the Babylonians. For we shall be in confusion and tumult, amidst the vain distractions of this present life. Babylon is interpreted as confusion.

VERS. 11-13. And now many nations are gathered together against you, saying: “Let us exult, and let our eyes look upon Zion.” But they have not known the thought of the Lord, and they have not understood His counsel, because He gathered them as a sheaf of the threshing floor. Arise, and thresh them, O daughter of Zion, because I will make your horns iron, and I will make your hooves bronze, and you shall crush many ^D peoples, and you shall consecrate their multitude to the Lord, and their strength to the Lord of all the earth.

XLIV. We have already said more than once that while Hezekiah was governing the kingdom in Jerusalem, Sennacherib brought devastation upon Samaria, and with it overthrew many cities of Judea as well. Then he sent from Lachish the Rabshakeh, who spoke impiously against the glory of God beyond measure, at a time when he had destroyed

^A five thousand, let us say, in one night by an angelic hand. ^B The scripture reminds us of this history again. For many nations have been gathered against you, it says, all but sporting and just about to dance in triumph over you as you lay fallen. But they did not know the things the Lord had devised. For they have been gathered together as into a threshing floor, and they shall be subjected to your feet like a sheaf. Rise then, therefore, and thresh them; for you shall have iron horns and bronze hoofs, which is to say, you shall be unassailable and invincible to your enemies, and you shall all but trample those who have stood against you. Since he has made mention of a threshing floor and a sheaf, he has preserved the appropriate manner in the metaphor; and just as one might speak of a bull's horns and hoofs, so he says this, since they were not consumed by human hand, but those who lay dead were the work of divine wrath. Do not, he says, ascribe to yourself the bragging rights on these accounts, but rather consecrate to the Lord of all the earth both that multitude and the strength of the slain. And this clearly is the sense of the history. But the great changeability of the prophetic proclamations will perhaps disturb some of those reading them. For a moment ago we were hearing the One saying, "To you shall come, and the first dominion shall enter, the kingdom of the Babylonians," and the manner of our captivity was being written. Then we see it immediately saved and trampling its enemies. There is need, therefore, of a clear distinction of the times; for thus the theory of what is said will be considered without confusion and obscurity. For while Hezekiah was reigning, Sennacherib came up against Jerusalem. Then, after the death of Hezekiah, there were four kings, and the fifth was Jechoniah. It was then that Nebuchadnezzar took all of Judea, and Jerusalem itself, and carried away all of Israel into captivity. The blessed prophet Jeremiah wisely writes for us the history of these events.

CHAPTER V.

Now the daughter of Ephraim shall be hemmed in with a wall; he has laid siege against us. With a rod they shall strike upon the cheek the tribes of Israel.

^C Many nations shall indeed be gathered against Sion, then, having expected to dance in triumph and smile mockingly at her, they have been struck and crushed, with God casting them under the feet of the victors as in the form of a sheaf. And Samaria has been taken and has perished, and has been consumed by war; and he says concerning her, that she shall be hemmed in and contained, with God clearly determining it, so that she might come to be in a siege, and it was necessary for her to suffer. He calls Samaria the "daughter of Ephraim," that is to say, the multitude in Samaria; for he who is entrusted with kingship seems to stand in the place of a father to those subject to him. And he who was of Ephraim has reigned over Samaria. It shall be, therefore, he says, that the region of the Samaritans will be surrounded and girt about by the throngs of the enemy, who, all but striking her on the cheeks—not by smiting with hands, which strike more sparingly, but crushing and striking with rods quite heavily. By this he signifies that, besides the indignity, the labor of captivity would also be intolerable. For a blow is a sign of indignity that is not in doubt.

^A If, however, it should be understood as occurring also by a rod, the person will certainly bear what is shameful and what is proper to a base servant. Let Samaria, therefore, which is ruled by the tribe of Ephraim, be held in dishonor, he says, and be in torments and labors. But the hand of the striker shall be stayed, and we shall not experience the lashes, if with all our strength we guard against provoking the Lord of the universe to wrath against ourselves by wicked actions and by studiously pursuing things hateful to Him, as much as we can. Rather, by honoring Him with uprightness, we shall be blessed, and we shall live a life that is truly brilliant and worthy of being embraced.

VERS. 2. *But you, Bethlehem, house of Ephratha, are little to be among the thousands of Judah. Out of you shall come forth to me one who is to be ruler in Israel; and his goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity.*

XLVI. The prophetic word announces to us in these words the return to the original state of our affairs. And it mentions most wisely the restoration that is said to have come to pass in Christ. *For in Him there is a new creation,* as it is written: *And the old things have passed away, behold, they have become new through Him,* ^B who transforms human things and renews them unto goodness once again. For He has become King, and has again acquired the desirable dominion over all. And the universal is also signified through those things that are administered in part. For Israel, as I said, was ruled at the beginning by a royal rule under God, with the holy ones acting as intermediaries. Then, not long after, suffering from folly and despising living under God, they looked rather to human empires. And thus they asked for Saul as a king for themselves. In this they sinned grievously; for God, the Lord of all, being grieved, said to the blessed Samuel: *They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.* That the matter was not at all beneficial to them, but bitter and harmful, and even a cause of destruction, experience itself has shown, and it admits no doubt. For on account of this they fell into terrible and unavoidable ^C evils. Therefore, as if bringing Israel back to what was in the beginning—I mean, to being ruled by God—He proclaims in advance the Christ, who would be born to them in Bethlehem as Savior and Redeemer.

One would not be far from the mark if one were to think that the words are directed generally. For since we, who are upon the earth, have cast off the kingly power of God over us and have laid an alien yoke upon ourselves, and have taken to ourselves a master who is not a master by nature, but rather a proud one and an apostate—I mean Satan—we have fallen into every kind of evil. But, as I said just now, *It pleased God the Father to restore all things in Christ, both those in the heavens and those upon the earth;* and He rescued us from the power of darkness, ^D and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love in the light.

^A He addresses, therefore, Bethlehem, or the house of Ephratha. The region is indeed called Ephratha, but the little town, or village of the region, Bethlehem, whence came Jesse and David, and thereafter the holy Virgin, who bore the divine infant for us, the child Jesus: "Whose government is upon his shoulder, and his name is called the Angel of great counsel." He reigned, indeed, through the cross. And because He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, therefore, as the divine Paul says, "God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen." Bethlehem, therefore, He says, house of Ephratha, even if "thou art little to be among the thousands of Judah," that is, although there are ten thousand bright and great cities in Judea, and teeming with an infinite multitude of inhabitants. But even if those dwelling in thee and feeding are altogether few, thou shalt be a nurse and be called the city of Him who reigns over Israel—and not only over those who are Israelites by blood, but also over those who were proclaimed in the promises to Abraham. For God said to him somewhere: "In Isaac shall thy seed be called." ^B That expression, "In Isaac," is said by way of promise. The promise is therefore firm, not only for those who are of the blood of Israel, but also for those who walk in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham in uncircumcision. For these are Israel, since "the children of the promise are reckoned as seed." It is as if He said: He shall rule over everyone who believes in Him, and who reconciles himself to me through Him. For we have been brought to the Father through the Son, and He Himself will bear witness, saying: "No one comes to the Father except through me." Christ was therefore revealed from Bethlehem, the good shepherd, who pastures us among the flowers and lilies, and sets before us the fragrance of the evangelical oracles, and presents them as if they were ripe flowers to those who wish to pluck them. For He said: "I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys." ^C He says that His goings forth were from the beginning, and from the days of eternity, either signifying the pre-eternal existence of the Word—for He is co-eternal with His own Father, and He Himself is the creator of the ages—or because, although He was born as man as if in the last time of the age, the mystery concerning Him was predestined in the foreknowledge of the Father even before the foundation of the world. He calls "goings forth," therefore, either the timeless generation of God the Son from the Father into His own subsistence, or His manifestation, which was to take place in time, when He became flesh; even if He had been predestined and appointed by the Father, from the days of eternity, as Savior and Redeemer, the Father not being ignorant of those things which were to happen meanwhile to the human race through the transgression in Adam. ^D

^A VERS. 3. *Therefore you will give them until the time of one bringing forth. She shall bring forth, and the rest of his brethren shall return to the sons of Israel.*

XLVII. The prophet seems, perhaps, to be reflecting with himself and reasoning, saying: God will not speak falsely, but will surely bring to completion the things he has promised. And if Israel is in such notable hope, and a leader is to be born to them, and he will reign, and will deliver them from every evil, why then will he ultimately fall into the hands of enemies? Then, considering the time of the promise, and thus, as it were, conceiving it presently, he answers himself in these words: Since the time of the promise will be long delayed, but they themselves are in no trifling sins, and do not at all cease from sinning, "therefore you will give them," that is, you will deliver them to enemies, O Lord, "until the time of one bringing forth," until, he says, that divine infant is conceived in virginal wombs. For then there shall be redemption, and they shall enjoy stable happiness, with nothing at all lacking to them for joy. While the prophet is thus pondering and, so to speak, whispering to himself, God hears and answers: *She shall bring forth,* and He makes him firm in faith. Similar to this is what He said to the prophet Habakkuk: "Yet a little while, and he who is coming will come, and will not delay." For he shall certainly be born, He says, "and the rest of his brethren shall return to the sons of Israel." For a huge number of the Jews received faith in Christ, and before others the blessed disciples; but those who in their contumacy had most contumeliously treated Christ fell from that hope. Yet in the final times, when they are brought in with others, and as if arriving in a race, they will scarcely at last run to that point to which it had been promised they would have come from the beginning. ^B

VERS. 4. *And he shall stand, and shall see, and shall feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, and they shall be in the glory of the name of the Lord their God. Because now they shall be magnified even to the ends of the earth, and this shall be peace.*

XLVIII. "He shall stand," he says, instead of "he shall preside," and the Shepherd himself shall act as the shepherd of his own sheep, nor shall he entrust their instruction to any other, as once he did to the blessed Moses, but he will perform this work by himself. For it is true that we were saved not by any envoy, nor by an angel, but by God himself. He shall feed us in strength, without any of our own sweat and labor. For he will present himself as a defender for us, and he will save us strenuously; nor will he allow illegitimate ^C shepherds to gain fame from their deceptions; nor will he suffer savage wild beasts to spring upon his flocks; nor will he permit, as was the case of old, wicked and opposing powers to prevail in strength over the faithful, to whom he will rather give the power to walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and to trample upon the lion and the dragon. For through him we have become glorious, and have been raised on high, bright and manifest, and have reached the limits of the inhabited [world]. ^D

^A For he is our strength, our power, and our mediator and reconciler, and he himself is our peace. "For he has broken down the middle wall of the partition, and has abolished the law of commandments in decrees, and has created the two peoples into one new man, making peace," as it is written, "and binding them together into unity with the bonds of love." The name "Peace" is therefore appropriate for him, even if he be called Christ.

"When the Assyrian shall come upon your land, and when he shall ascend upon your country, then shall be raised up against him seven shepherds, and eight bites of men. And they shall browse upon Assur with the sword, and the land of Nebrod in its ditch, and he shall deliver [you] from Assur, when he shall come upon your land, and when he shall ascend upon your borders."

^B XLIX. The Hebrew edition of the proposed chapter makes its beginning with these words: "And this shall be peace, when the Assyrian shall come upon your land, and when he shall ascend upon your country." For this, he says, shall be the manner of peace, if Assur should wish to invade your ground and country.

But interpreting the verses, we shall say that the discourse departs again from things sensible and more manifest, and is raised, as it were, on high, and subtly carries over the manifest image to things that happen in an intelligible way. For in these words, he does not designate the Assyrian as that man from Babylon, but rather as the inventor of sin, that is, Satan. Or rather, to speak in universal terms, he expresses the untamable multitude of demons, which resists every good ^C intelligible thing and opposes the holy city, the intelligible Sion, of which the divine psalmist made mention, saying: "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God" (Ps. lxxxvi, 3). For Christ inhabits the Church, and has made it his own city, although by the nature of his divinity he fills all things. Therefore, this city of God is, as it were, a land and region of the sanctified, and of those who have been enriched with the unity in God through the Spirit.

"When, therefore, the Assyrian," he says, "shall come upon your city," that is, if the barbarian and opposing powers should provoke the saints, they will not find them destitute of defenders. "For there shall be raised up against them seven shepherds, and eight bites of men." The meaning of the prophecy ^D seems, from the times—or rather from the numbers, I mean from the seven and the eight—to wish to signify the saints who lived before the coming of Christ, those who lived at the time of it, and those who lived after. For even before the coming, according to the Law of Moses, the Sabbath rest was honored in weeks (Deut. xvi, 3), and it was still the time of the shadow. Then also the crowd of holy prophets displayed itself, who educated men in piety and the knowledge of the time to come. But after the Only-Begotten appeared, and endured the cross for the sake of the life of all, and rose again...

^A on the third day, having despoiled Hades, He commanded the holy apostles, "To teach all nations, and to baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," and to teach them to observe all things whatsoever He had commanded. He therefore calls these the eight bites of men, as pointing out those who came to be in the time of the resurrection and after it. When, therefore, he says, the Assyrian, or the alien and barbarian, shall come, then, indeed, then he shall come against seven shepherds, and against eight bites. For we shall find the saints who lived in the time of the Law, whom he calls seven shepherds, and in addition to these, apostles and evangelists, and the teachers of the Churches in their own times, who always warred and stood ^B against the deceits of the demons, and opposed their own vigilance like an opposing battle-line against the perversities of the wicked one. For they keep those who inhabit the holy land and region safe, arming them with the precepts given for every virtue. Moreover, that the choir of the saints would in some way lie in wait for Satan, and would consume him with intelligible bites, God declares again through the voice of the holy one, saying concerning him: "Woe to him who multiplies to himself what is not his! Until when? and who weighs down his heavy clay against himself. For suddenly they shall arise who bite him, and your persecutors shall awake; and you shall be for a plunder to them, because you have despoiled many nations, all the remaining peoples shall despoil you." Do you hear that He says the one who multiplies to himself what is not his—that is, Satan—shall be bitten and despoiled? Then He calls those who despoil him "the remnant," that is, the descendants of Jacob. But if even some Assyrian should come upon some, that is, a man of a different mind, and deceived, and not having the true and genuine faith, but ^C limping, and, as it were, broken in mind, they oppose him with the strength of the truth, biting him almost like a wolf and repelling him from the flock of the intelligible sheep. These, then, are the seven shepherds, and, as understood, in eight bites. "They shall pasture Assur with the sword." He has used the word "pasture" for "pursue." Because, indeed, He had mentioned shepherds, the metaphor of the speech was maintained by saying "they shall pasture." And what the sword is that is rightly to be understood, which the saints are accustomed to use, the Psalmist indicates, speaking concerning them: "And two-edged swords in their hands." "For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword." And Paul, arming the soldier who is understood to be in Christ, gives to him the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ^D That the divine and all-powerful sword, that is, the word of God, pursues the Assyrian, the prophet Isaiah no less persuades us, saying in these words: "And it shall be in that day, God shall bring the sword, holy and great and strong, upon the dragon, the twisting serpent, and shall slay the dragon." And again: "And it shall be, when the Lord has finished all things that He does in Sion and Jerusalem, He shall bring [punishment] upon the great mind, upon the prince of the Assyrians, and upon the height of the glory of the eyes

of him. For He said: "In my strength I will do it, and in the wisdom of my understanding I will take away the boundaries of the nations, and I will plunder their strength, and I will shake the inhabited cities." ^A With this sword, therefore, they shall shepherd Assur, and all the land of Nemrod. He names the country of the Assyrians, or rather the Babylonians, around which, as they say, a deep trench had been dug; and he calls it the land of Nemrod, for the reason that he was the beginning, origin, and father of the Babylonian race. It is written thus in Genesis concerning him: "The sons of Regma: Saba and Dadan. And Chus begot Nemrod. He began to be a giant upon the earth. He was a giant hunter before the Lord God. Therefore they shall say, as Nemrod the giant hunter before the Lord God. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Arach, and Archad, and Chalanne." And the divine Scripture says that this is a Persian territory. He calls Babylon, therefore, the land of Nemrod, which is surrounded by a trench, as I said just now. So then, "They shall shepherd," he says, "the Assyrian, and all the land ^B of Nemrod," so that they may remain within the trench, and may no longer extend themselves into cities or regions; but they shall remain, as it were, at home in fear, and trembling lest they suffer some such thing through Christ—this we shall find to be the case with the crowds of demons; for they no longer boast insolently over the whole world under the sun.

Vers. 7. *And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, as dew falling from the Lord, and as lambs upon the grass, that no one may gather, nor withstand among the sons of men.*

N. I have already said many times that the remnant of Israel has been saved, and the race of Jacob has not perished altogether. For not a few have believed in Christ, and have acquired ^C the riches of salvation through faith even before the nations. But from this remnant part, the divine disciples themselves have also come, and those who have been fellow-strugglers with them in the Gospel of Christ. He says, therefore, that these very ones are saved among the nations, like some dew poured out upon fields, and dissolving the heat of diabolical wickedness. For just as when the radiance of the sun's ray falls upon fields and lilies, it causes them to droop toward uncomeliness and to wither; so also the author of sin, when he inflames the mind of man with worldly pleasures, makes it withered in a way, and renders its appearance most unsightly. But the divine Word restores it, just as the dew [restores] a flower or grass. ^D And thus, he says, those who are from Jacob shall also be among the nations, watering the souls of those who believe like some dew with words of piety, and abundantly fattening them with evangelical lessons. And just as when much flourishing grass is set before lambs, then indeed they revel and skip about; in the same way, I think, the mind of those who teach makes the facilitation and obedience of those who are taught and are being instructed in sacred things its own nourishment and delight. So then, our Lord Jesus Christ Sama-

Samaritans to be his own, and as it were his proper, nourishment. For he says to the apostles: "I have food to eat, which you do not know." And then, clarifying this, he added, saying: "My food is that I should do the will of him who sent me, and accomplish his work." Food, therefore, and the delight of the holy ones is the work of God. They will then trample, he says, as if they were grazing upon grass—that is, beautiful, blooming herbage—and devouring, as it were, those from the nations who have believed. Those of the seed of Jacob will find the way of preaching ^B so wide open that no one will be able to assemble or withstand them—that is, neither combine against them nor resist them (for this is what it means "to withstand"), if any of the sons of men should decide to afflict them. For many things have been thought of and attempted by many against them, yet they have been harmed in nothing, as God calms the rages of those who are powerful and miraculously delivers and saves them from every temptation, rendering them safe and unharmed.

VERS. 8, 9. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations in the midst of many peoples as a lion among the beasts in the forest, and as a lion's whelp among the flocks of sheep. As when he passes through, and dividing, he seizes, and there is no one to deliver. Your hand shall be lifted up over those who afflict you, and all your enemies shall be destroyed.

LI. Useful and memorable narrations, even if they be repeated, ^C are free from annoyance and soothe with their pleasantness.

him, for suddenly will arise those who bite him, and your persecutors will awake, and you shall be for a plunder to them. Because you have despoiled many nations, all the remaining peoples shall despoil you." For those eight were indeed biting, and tearing like lion's whelps the things gathered by that man. For he had gathered to himself what was not his—for man belongs to God, or rather, not even to himself entirely. Nevertheless, he was despoiled by the "remaining peoples," so that you may again understand the sacred ministers and interpreters of the evangelical oracles. Subsequently, he who strengthens and preserves them, Christ, says to them: "Your hand shall be exalted over those who afflict you, and all your enemies shall be destroyed." For they were victorious, as I said, in Christ, and were greater than all intrigue; they shone in the world, they subdued their enemies, and they restored the lost to God. ^B

VERS. 10-14. And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, I will destroy your horses from the midst of you, and I will destroy your chariots. And I will destroy the cities of your land, and I will remove all your fortifications, and I will destroy your potions from your hands, and there shall be no more speakers of oracles in you. And I will destroy your graven images, and your pillars from the midst of you, and you shall no more worship the works of your hands. And I will cut down your groves from the midst of you, and I will wipe out your cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations, because they did not hearken.

NB. The discourse returns again to sad matters, and it ceases for the moment from the brilliant and admirable narratives concerning Christ. It connects, however, these things in a certain way with what has preceded, and places before the eyes what things shall result from divine wrath. He says therefore: ^C "Because you also are a tower of a squalid flock, O daughter of Zion, against you shall come, and there shall enter the first principality, the kingdom of Babylon." Then, therefore, then, he says, your cavalry shall depart, and together with this the pride of your chariots shall perish, and cities shall be devastated, and you will be left destitute even of your own walls; for the Babylonians burned the cities with the men themselves. Yet the pursuits of your own imagination, namely sorceries and false prophecies, and the very workshops of deceit—these temples together with the idols—shall be utterly destroyed, and the groves shall be torn away from their very foundations. And what follows then? The judgment shall be notorious, and the manner of the punishment shall not escape the neighboring nations. And they shall know that they have suffered all things because they did not hearken, that is, for the crimes of their disobedience. ^D Wisdom says again something of this sort to those who have an unbridled mind: "Because I stretched out my words, and you did not attend, therefore I also will laugh at your destruction, and I will rejoice when ruin comes to you, and when tumult suddenly arrives for you, and when destruction is present like a storm." For the fruits of divine turning away are wrath and fury, tribulation and anguish. We must therefore,

^A without any hesitation follow quickly [727/728] when God calls us to what is profitable, and perform what is pleasing to Him; for slowing down and being sluggish in choosing to do good will result in great harm to us and plunges us into bitter pains. See, moreover, how God, while demanding penalties for transgressions, once again provides a benefit. For He delivers Israel from detestable idolatry, from altars, from shrines, from sacrifices, and from worshipping the works of their own hands. Therefore, it is not unprofitable to be corrected, provided it happens in judgment and not in fury, according to the voice of the prophet.

If anyone should say that these things happened to the Jews who treated Christ most unworthily, he will not miss the truth. For it is true that their cities have been laid waste, and every fighting man among them has perished, consumed by the hands of the Romans. ^B And perhaps they have paid the penalty for their ancient idolatry, even if there still were among them those who did not refuse to adore the creature, and who dabbled in magic arts. For such things are accustomed to follow those who have once consecrated themselves to the cult of idols, and there is nothing among them, however absurd, about which they do not think highly.

CHAPTER VI

VERS. 1, 2. *Hear therefore what the Lord has said: Arise, and judge against the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, O hills, the judgment of the Lord, and you, ye valleys, the foundations of the earth. For the Lord has a judgment against his people, and with Israel he will be judged.*

LIII. The discourse has the power to put to shame, and it as if pursues the insensibility of the Jews, who even made the very words of God of no account, which were spoken to them gently and moderately, and ^C as from a father to children, showing sincere love toward them, and making it so that they can cover their stubbornness with no excuse. But it is the custom of the God who loves the good, by the prediction of terrible things, sometimes to bring terror first to sinners, yet not to leave them soothed by any blandishment of words and despairing of salvation, but at the same time to join to those things which He predicts will happen, a fitting exhortation, and to preserve for them, as it were, a path for escape, if they should wish to return to repentance. This He does now again out of His innate gentleness. “Hear therefore,” He says, “what the Lord has said.” But what has He commanded me? “Arise, and judge against the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.” This is similar also to the voice of Isaiah: ^D “Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken.” Perhaps he called the intelligible powers mountains and hills, which guard and cherish this whole work of the nature of things according to the will of God, warding off the impostures and frauds of demons from mortals. Since, however, they recognize the magnitude of the divine gentleness before others, and have learned how much care God has for us from the things they perform for our benefit by obeying His laws, He instructs that the judgment should take place in their presence. It is likely, then, that the prophetic word reveals to us yet another meaning. For since mountains and bills...

^A were sought out by the Israelites, and there they performed their mysteries, offering sacrifices to demons under the oak and the pine, judgments are therefore made against the mountains and hills, in which will be the manifest sins of those who are accused. It is consistent, also, that the hills and foundations of the earth are called by the prophet those who are excelling in glory and superior to the common multitude, that is, the nobles, who especially became to their subjects both a way and a snare unto ruin. For He says somewhere to them: “To you is the judgment, because you became a snare to the watch-tower, and as a net spread over Tabor.” He says, therefore: O you who have risen above others, O foundations of the earth—that is, those upon whom the affairs of others rest—hear the judgment of the Lord of all against you. But he who judges aright sings, and says to the Lord of all: “Enter not into judgment with thy servant.” ^B For He who knows all things will certainly prevail, “And no one will boast of having a pure heart. No one would be clean from sins.” It is, therefore, a terrible thing to be judged before God. Note that the version of the Seventy contains “valleys,” while the Hebrew edition calls them “hills and foundations of the earth,” so that we might know by the hills those who are in a sense lifted up, the leaders of the peoples who excel others, and by the foundations, those same people. For those who preside over regions or cities, just as they are conspicuous in glory and lifted up unto the heights, so also would they be foundations—that is, a support and a base for things; for the affairs of others depend upon them, and are established, as I just said. ^C

“My people, what have I done to you, or in what have I grieved you, or in what have I troubled you? Answer me. Because I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, and I sent before your face Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam.”

^D LIV. God contends in judgment through the person of the prophet, manifesting in what manner those impious men departed from Him otherwise than they ought, or rather, the things they dared full of all madness, and the magnitude of their insanity, and the singular insolence of the crime, perhaps even in the judgment of those who are vehemently ungrateful. For what occasion, I ask, was given by me for the things which were wickedly performed against me? What was burdensome of my commandments, or what was grievous? Come against me, and, you wicked ones, convict me, because I liberated you from the slavery of clay and brick-making, and from the toils that follow therefrom; because I armed the very creation itself against the Egyptians who were acting iniquitously, and preserved my own, you will perhaps accuse even the pedagogue himself with me, I mean Moses, who brought to you wisdom that is not obscure, and who clearly demonstrated what is pleasing to God, so that you might have an unwavering way to live brilliantly. And perhaps you will make even the very foundation of the sacred ministry [a cause for complaint].

I, for my part, have decided upon Aaron, and I have ordered him to act as mediator between God and you. Are you therefore vexed even at this? And what shall I say regarding Miriam, who mocked the perishing Egyptians and led the dancing choirs? For she, beating the timbrel, sang, "The horse and his rider he has drowned in the sea." But as for you, even the victory itself is abhorrent, and you count as nothing Him who gave you the power to pass through the midst of the waves, while rendering the sea hostile to your enemies. He makes his reproaches in a festive spirit, therefore, stirring them up to a remembrance of the gifts they had received, and as if urbanely reproaching them for having lapsed into forgetfulness of matters which it would have been better to remember at all times, and to delight in return, with all promptness of obedience, the Savior of all.

He also led us ourselves out of a spiritual Egypt, that is, out of darkness and diabolical deceptions, and clay and brick—that is to say, carnal passions. He also led us through the sea of the distractions arising from these, and delivered us from the bitter waves, as it were, of the dangers existing therein, and inscribed divine laws upon our minds. Moreover, He appointed as a priest the author of our salvation. And just as He sent forth Miriam, so too He sent forth the Church, which has been raised above the snares of the enemies, ^B brightly rendering glory to the God who saved it. For hymns, and thank-offerings, and praises of the gifts of God, and proclamations must exist in the Church. We too must therefore be on our guard, lest by any means we fall into the sins of the Jews, and lest we deem that which is pleasing to God to be burdensome. For as the blessed John writes, "His commandments are not grievous." And Christ Himself says, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Let us therefore offer to God a prompt spirit, since He commands nothing that is onerous.

VERS. 5. O my people, remember, I pray, what Balak king of Moab devised against thee, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal, that the justice of the Lord might be known.

LV. He rebukes them again, as those who had impiously and insolently exalted themselves against His power, even though they had nothing to say for which it would be reasonable, while justly aggrieved, to incline toward apostasy. For I deemed them worthy, He says, of such great indulgence and love, that I could not bear even to have them slandered in words. For the execrable Balak, the king of the Moabites, ^C hired Balaam, the diviner and augur, and exhorted him to utter curses against Israel. But the God of all wrought something beyond expectation and transcendent, turning the tongue of the false prophet into a blessing. And when Balak made the matter a crime, and accused the augur, he immediately led him off to other hills. Then, commanding him to build an altar ^D and sacrifice bulls, he perhaps thought that God was not powerful in every place. But the blessing was found

^A everywhere, even though he ran about from the so-called Shittim—a place in Moab—as far as Mount Gilgal. Remember, therefore, what Balak wished and what Balaam answered. For I, indeed, even cut off the blasphemies against you, not allowing the augur to utter so much as a word of railing. But you, unmindful even of this, have ascribed the glory due to me to inanimate things, crying out to golden calves and saying: “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” ^B Since, therefore, God distributes to us good things out of love, and feeds us with the greatest bounty, and puts the enemies to flight, and dissolves their plans against us, what ought we ourselves to do, having chosen to think rightly? It is, perhaps, entirely that through which we ourselves also may be seen to be beloved of God. And this is to follow His will, and to consummate most abundantly what is pleasing to Him, and, being joined to Him as if in the presence of our mind, to say that which is in the Psalms: “My soul has cleaved behind you.”

“In what shall I lay hold of the Lord? Shall I lay hold of my God, the Most High? If I shall lay hold of Him in burnt offerings, in calves of a year? Will the Lord accept in thousands of rams, or in myriads of fat goats? If I give my firstborn for impiety, the fruit of my belly for the sin of my soul? Has it been announced to you, O man, what is good? Or what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to be ready to walk with the Lord your God?” ^C

LVI. When He had demonstrated to the Israelites their inexcusable apostasy, and had in a certain way called them to judgment, and had clearly proven that He had existed as a benefactor in a thousand ways, while they, on the contrary, oppressed by some immense stupor, had not lightly offended their Savior, He soon introduces the person of one repenting, as if bewailing the committed sins and desiring to know in what way he might clear himself of the charges brought against him, and what pursuits are most acceptable to God. He says, therefore: “In what shall I lay hold of the Lord?” For what, he says, shall I offer? What shall I do henceforth, having transgressed so greatly? By sacrificing calves, young ^D and tender, shall I be clean? Will God assent to me if I should choose to offer burnt offerings? Shall I find Him?—that is, shall I draw near to Him, and be admitted into spiritual intimacy, if I should sacrifice a great number of beasts to Him? But, passing over these, shall I take the fruit of my belly? Shall I please Him if I sacrifice to Him that which I have brought forth and reared as the chief—that is, the firstborn? To one thus as if deliberating with himself and speaking, the prophet answers and says in the Spirit: The matter is not obscure, nor preparable with sweat. You know the good will of God; you have heard what is pleasing and dear to Him. Why, therefore, do you hesitate, O man? For what does the God of all things require of you other than to do justice, and to love mercy,

and being ready to walk with the Lord thy God?” To do justice is to work and perform righteousness; for justice is righteousness. And to love mercy is to be endowed with the ornament of mutual affection and to abound in the glory of brotherly love. And to be ready to walk with the Lord thy God signifies a mind yielding and tractable in all things. The blessed Paul also exhorts us to put on the breastplate of righteousness and to shoe our feet in readiness for the Gospel of peace, that is, Christ. He further commands, saying: “Put on bowels of mercy.” Nay, and the Saviour Himself says: “Be ye merciful, as your Father also which is in heaven is merciful.” ^B This is a sacrifice grateful and acceptable to God. For the odor of those burnt offerings which are perceived only by the mind is more excellent than blood, smoke, and incense. For those were performed in figure, but these draw forth the very truth which is sweet-smelling to God, who says also through another prophet: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Observe also how the person of the penitent contemplates performing the sacrifices of the Law; but God, warning that the law is weak and impotent to purge sins, and that the way of life in Christ is far better and superior in incomparable excellence, makes those legal observances almost unacceptable. He says, however, that God wills: “To do judgment, and to love mercy, and to be ready to walk with Him.” These indeed are the decorations and ornaments of the Christian life.

VERS. 9. *The voice of the Lord shall cry unto the city, and shall save those that fear His name.*

LVII. He manifests clearly in another way that there is no fruit in the offering of blood, but that the power of spiritual worship is of no small profit. He has put “the voice” here in place of the name, or invocation. Perhaps it is as if He said: If by chance the name of God should be proclaimed or invoked openly over the city, it shall be saved without any doubt whatsoever. For do not imagine, O man, I say, that I am delighted with the sacrifices of blood, or consider a city impious and wicked if it should not sacrifice calves for burnt offerings to Me. But neither would I in any way deliver it from danger if it decided to sacrifice oxen, even if it stained the altar with the slaughter of sheep, or offered flocks of rams; to have the name of God invoked over them—this will suffice it for salvation. For it is truly mine that honors My power, and that feels what is pleasing to Me, and executes it without procrastination. Then I will save those that fear Me. Therefore, when we are said to be of God, then we also fear Him, and are saved by Him; and the power of such spiritual worship may rightly be understood in this way. The God of all things speaks something of this kind also through the mouth of David: “Hear, O my people, and I will speak to thee, O Israel, and will testify unto thee. I am thy God. ^D I will not...

reprove thee for thy sacrifices, for thy burnt offerings are always in my sight.” Then, adding to these things: “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?” And again he says: “Offer to God the sacrifice of praise, and pay thy vows to the Most High. And call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”

10. Hear, O tribe, and who shall adorn the city? Is it fire, and the house of the ungodly, which is storing up treasures of the ungodly, and iniquity with injury? [NH'] By tribe and by family they inhabited Judea, and indeed also Samaria, those who were of the blood of Israel, the land of promise having been distributed to them by lot by Joshua, surnamed Nave. God therefore addresses both each one separately and all together: “Hear then, O every tribe, the city is saved upon which the name of the Lord might be invoked.” For He will by no means overlook those who fear Him; but it shall be an impregnable wall, and an ornament, and glory for those wishing to rightfully perform what He loves. But if, He says, you wish to see the opposite, what shall adorn the city? The house of the ungodly, or iniquity with injury? For, He says, if because of many sins a city ^B is consumed by fire, having been captured by the hands of the enemy, will it be comely? And will the house of the ungodly – that which stores up treasures of iniquity – render it beautiful, and bright, and most glorious? And will iniquity with injury be of benefit to it? But no one of those accustomed to think rightly would doubt that such things render a city disreputable. For it would not have been captured and consumed by fire, had it not in all respects offended greatly because of much sin. Why then, He says, having abandoned the things by which a city might be saved and adorned, have you become zealous instead for the things that are accustomed to destroy it, and have you honored the things by which it might be seen to be base and uncomely, having wicked, money-loving, and unjust inhabitants, and those who are storing up iniquities?

“If the ungodly shall be justified in the balance, and in the purse the weights of deceit, from which they have filled their riches with impiety? And the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue has been exalted in their mouth.”

[LIX] For do you think, He says, that the ungodly shall be justified in the balance? That is, if I were to examine, and as it were weigh the life of each of the unrighteous, have you believed that the one who is opposed to virtue would ever allow the vote of justice to be brought against him? And have you thought that you, who have “in the purse the weights of deceit,” that is, those who out of greed and illicit love of gain desire to become wealthy, can escape the wrath? For from such gains they have filled their riches with impiety. And they have become both liars and arrogant. For to love to lie always follows those who are lovers of inequality, and of shameful gains.

^A

The architects of impious dogmas also hold deceitful weights in their bags, perverting all that is right, and creeping into the minds of the simpler ones with deceits and frauds, and becoming rich by hunting many people. Yet, having gathered for themselves such wealth, filled with impiety, they speak nothing that is agreed to be true; but rather they speak counterfeit and false things, and things as if colored by the elegances of deceit. Such men again also exalt their own tongue, speaking iniquities against God, according to that which is written, uttering words of vanity, as if swollen with pride, to which it is appropriate to say: "Hear, O tribe, and who will adorn the city? Is it fire, or the house of the impious storing up treasures of iniquity, and iniquity with injury?" ^B For the fire of punishment will not be for their adornment, but for their retribution. Since they have become a house storing up iniquity, they will be under a curse and under judgment, and they will fall into every kind of evil.

*Verses 13-16.* "And I will begin to strike you, I will destroy you in your sins. You shall eat, and shall not be filled. And I will cast you out from yourself, and you shall lay hold, and shall not be saved. And as many as shall be saved shall be delivered to the sword. You shall sow, and shall not reap. You shall press the olive, and shall not be anointed with oil; and [you shall press] wine, and shall not drink. And the laws of my people shall be dissipated. And you have kept the justifications of Zambri, and all the works of the house of Achab, and you have walked in his counsels, that I might deliver you into destruction, and those who inhabit it into a hissing, and you shall receive the reproaches of the peoples."

^C LX. Since the house of the impious stores up iniquities, and gathers wealth from iniquities, He next threatens judgment, and declares that the advent of the things that are expected now begins to take hold, so that destruction may correspond to the proportion of the offenses. He strikes fear usefully, and with the terrors of things to come, as if with a bridle, He turns them toward the will to pursue better things, and to mitigate God by subsequent counsels. He enumerates the plagues, so to speak, and sets them in sight. For He affirms that they will be punished with famine and with the lack of necessities, and that they will be destroyed by their own hands, and that, although they will attempt flight, they will certainly not escape. And if any should be able to elude the present losses, he says that they will be captured, and not long after will be exposed to the swords of others. Through this, it seems to us, He signifies the following: Very many wars have been stirred up against the Israelites, or against the whole of Judah, and not always by enemies; they also provoked one another with civil arms, so that at one time Ephraim, that is, the ten tribes, rose up against Judah; and at another time the people of Jerusalem themselves moved against the Ephraimites: nor were the cities that perished few in number, and they frequently drove one another from their dwellings. And in this way, driven from the city, they have come to other

^A cities. Yet they were also taken at times, either by the Syrians and the kings of Damascus invading, or perhaps even by the Persians and Medes themselves. This, I think, is what is meant by: "I will cast you out from within yourself, and you shall seize, and you shall not be saved; and as many as are saved shall be delivered to the sword." ^B That they will also be deprived of the fruits of their fields, and, worn out by the lack of necessities, will live wretchedly and pay the penalty for their impious deeds, is made clear by what follows. For he says: "You shall sow, but you shall not reap," with God, in my opinion, destroying the fruits. "And you shall press the olive yourself," for the region of the Samaritans is olive-bearing; but you shall be so in need of oil, he says, that even if you wish to, perhaps you will have no means of finding any for anointing. And since your land is very rich in vines and abounds in wine, so that it even distributes it to other cities, you yourself will not find any to drink. The legal rites, he says, which you established for idols, by consecrating to them the first-fruits of your abundance, will also cease. For what first-fruits will you now offer in the future? Or what thanksgiving will you present, and for what, since you have fallen wretchedly and are consumed? Then, teaching that no one else can be considered the author and cause of that calamity, but that he himself will be convicted as the architect of his own misery, since he emulated the ways of the most impious men, he adds and says: "And you have kept the justifications of Zambri, and all the works of the house of Achab, and you walked in his counsels, that I might deliver you to destruction." ^C Zambri was king over Israel; he is the father of Achab, but as the sacred Scripture says, "He walked in the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin." He surpassed even those before him in wickedness. Therefore he was also consumed by fire, having set his own house on fire upon himself, as has been set forth in the writings; but he calls the house of Achab, as is apparent, that of Jezabel, for whose sake murders, rapines, and persecutions of the saints were practiced. These things, then, you have kept, he says, so that I may justly destroy you and make you a laughingstock and a reproach to others.

We will also apply such words to the enemies of the truth, who, trusting in their own eloquence ^D and gathering together the refuse and trash of wretched thoughts, grow rich as if from iniquity, collecting for themselves what is not their own, and accustomed to plunder like enemies the simple-minded flocks, and lead them off into strange error. Let them hear, therefore, God saying: "And I will begin to strike you, and I will destroy you for your sins. You shall eat, and you shall not be filled." For those who encounter the divine Scriptures, but are not filled with the doctrines of the truth, although they think they are eating, they perish with hunger; and thinking that they are grasping the way of salvation, they cannot find it, and sowing, as they suppose, they do not reap any

reward for their labors, and though they press out the intelligible oil—that is, the holy Scripture—they are in no way made fat by the grace of the Spirit; and thinking they are gleaning, they shall be far from spiritual joy. ^A *They have kept the justifications of Zambri, and all the works of the house of Achab*; that is, they have acted wickedly, unrighteously increased their own wealth, and stirred up persecution against the saints. Therefore they shall be for destruction, and in the end they shall be given over to reproach and execration.

CAP. VII.

^B VERS. 1. *Woe is me, because I have become as one that gathereth stubble in the harvest, and as the grape-gleanings in the vintage, whereas there is no cluster to eat of the first-fruits.*

LXI. Out of love the prophet laments for the Israelites, as those who are on the very verge of destruction, and who will finally reach such a number that a very few, and those alone, shall be left; they are like the fallen ears of corn which the hands of the reapers pass over, and which are rarely found by the gleaners. They are likewise similar to the clusters which are called "gleanings," which the hands of the gatherers or vintagers have left behind. I think it is also shown how difficult it is to find saints, seeing that few survive in that age; and they are found no otherwise than as ears of corn remaining after the crops have been reaped: just as, among the first-born clusters, there are the subsequent additions. For when the sky is hot, a cluster, the first and the primary one, bursts forth from the shoots as if with force. But as time goes on, at the proper season, after such grapes, others sometimes appear in a second place, which the vintagers do not easily find, because they are easily hidden under the multitude of the leaves, and on account of the fewness of the berries. Those who follow the gleaners gather these, not without labor, and after having inspected the vines with more care. The prophet therefore seems to us to lament in these words the rarity of good men. How, indeed, can it be doubted that it was a loss to the Israelites to live in such a dearth of saints? For God, being a benign Master, sometimes spares regions and cities, and forgives very many crimes, and—even if scarcely five good men are found among them, while within there are innumerable Sodomites—He nevertheless shows mercy, and, revering the persons of the few saints, restrains His wrath.

^C VERS. 2, 3. *Woe is me, O soul, because the religious man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men. All judge for blood, every one trampleth upon his neighbor in affliction. They prepare their hands for evil. The prince asketh, and the judge hath spoken peaceable words, this is the desire of his soul.*

LXII. The saying is true, as it seems to me. For he laments sorrowfully that there is no religious man in the whole earth, that is, of the Jews, although it had once numbered infinite heads of saints, ^D marked by honors and possessing manifest glory. This is what God says through the voice of Isaiah: «Quo

^A «How has the faithful city, Sion, become a harlot, she that was full of judgment, in whom justice lodged, but now murderers?» For that which is most burdensome, and what prepared them to pass to the very summit of wickedness, was that they exercised judgment in blood, and perpetrated savage slaughters, and cast aside the study of good works as utterly stale, to such a degree that they deemed it necessary to turn their hands only against those who dwelt among them. For nothing remains unattempted by those accustomed to live in this way, even if it is punished by law, and even if it is disgraced by the ways of liberty. ^B Does it follow, then, that the subject population had become infirm in these things, while the leadership was vigorous and the judge was sound? By no means, he says: «For the prince asks, and the judge has spoken peaceful words.» Often, many of those who are set in authority have become unholy and most greedy of gain, easily selling their own judgments to those who wish to corrupt them. But if even they have bent toward this, so as not to appear defeated by crimes, and if they turn away from bribery in some fashion, and hasten to adorn their own ways with a good reputation—yet to advance to this point of wretchedness, alas for the shameful!—so that one might almost say they extend their hand, and if the judge does not receive, they corrupt the reason of justice, and shamelessly threaten, how would this not then be beyond all filthiness? Therefore, the discourse is a simulation, ^C and as if crying out against avarice: «The prince asks, and the judge has spoken peaceful words.» Will anyone, then, blame one who gathers those divided for destruction into peace? How, then, could it be true that «Blessed are the peacemakers,» and what is their reward? But yet for those who are late to peace, the boastings thereof are preserved. However, he who judges rightly interprets that which is pleasing to the divine law, and he will refute the unjust, and will entirely refrain from pleading for those who have been wronged. But when they speak peaceful words to the unjust, not refuting them as sinners, then, truly then, they openly make void what was sanctioned by the Lawgiver. For He said that «The lips of the priest shall keep judgment, and they shall seek the law from his mouth.» ^D It follows, in some way, for those accustomed to taking bribes, neither to be able to judge rightly, nor, indeed, to refute sinners with boldness, but rather to counsel things conducive to peace, even if they bring upon some the greatest possible avarice. And the prophet, making clear the cause of the disease, says: «It is the desire of his soul...» for he says that perhaps even that which is done unlawfully is pleasing to him. Then how will he rebuke those who have done wrong? For how can he who has praised [one] still blame [him]? Therefore, avarice is truly an unholy and harmful thing, as is oppressing others. It is, moreover, accursed to succumb to shameful gain, and to arrive at such a depth of bad counsel as to forget about methods of uprightness, and to judge without partiality, and to count it as nothing, but rather to incline toward those accustomed to doing injustice, and

to share in the sins of others in this way. ^A Yet it will be granted that one who abandons himself to such terrible failings, in all respects and in every way, to wrath and to punishments—who could doubt it, if he chooses to think rightly?

"And I will take away their goods as a moth eating, and walking upon a rule, as in the day of the watchtower." ^B

LXIII. He has threatened to bring upon them the manner of his judgment in two ways.

Gaba is a certain village, or small town, in Judea, situated on a hill, and allotted by lot to the tribe of Benjamin; it is also called "the hill" and "the watchtower." And we remember how a certain Levite, as is written in the Book of Judges, after his concubine was treated unworthily in that same town, divided her corpse into twelve parts and sent them to all the tribes, thereby making the crime of the Benjaminites manifest to all. Hence it happened that the remaining tribes took up arms against the Benjaminites, ^D and no small number met their death, although the Benjaminites were at first superior to the other tribes, but were afterwards entirely destroyed by them. The prophet Hosea also touches upon this history. For he says that they fixed their madness in the house of God, and they were corrupted according to the days of the hill. For because they fixed idolatries and false divinations (for these are what are signified by the name of madness) in the house of the Lord, for this reason they were corrupted and destroyed, as in the days of the hill, that is, Gabaa. But that the hill, or Gaba, is called "the watchtower," you may learn clearly from the third book of Kings. For Asa reigned over Jerusalem, and Basaa over Samaria at the same time. But when a dispute arose between them, and both were angered, they made war upon one another: "Basaa, king of Israel, went up," he says, "into Judah, and built Rama, so that no one might be going out and coming in for Asa, king of Judah." But when Samaria was attacked by the son of Ader, Basaa ceased building.

[taking a stand] against the enemy. Asa ran out from Jerusalem, then having arrived in Rama, he gave orders, he says, to all Judah at Enakim, and they take away the stones of Rama and its wood, which Basaa had built; and Asa built with them around the hill of Benjamin, and the watchtower. For Gabaa is thus interpreted, because it is exalted and situated on a hill and a watchtower. "I will therefore begin to strike you, and I will destroy you for your sins," and not in another way than that very one which was in the day of the watchtower. For I will walk as if by a rule: I will not turn aside to the right, nor even to the left, coming along the road of vengeance. And it seems again that the prophetic word implies something such as this to us. For Micah prophesied in the days of Jotham, and Ahaz, and Hezekiah. But Jotham was a pious man, while Ahaz was abominable, and hated, and one of those most of all defamed for impiety. And in his reign, Pekah, son of Remaliah, then king of Samaria, made war against Judah, having as an ally Rezin, the king of Damascus, and he killed a very great number in one day. For it is written thus in the second of Chronicles concerning Ahaz: "And the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. And he struck him, and took from them a great captivity, and brought them to Damascus; and he delivered him into the hands of the king of Israel, and he struck him with a great blow; and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, killed in Judah in one day one hundred and twenty thousand men mighty in strength, because they had forsaken the Lord." ^C We must know, therefore, that if we offend God, we shall immediately be in need of every good, and a terrible famine of divine and spiritual goods will consume us, and we shall consume one another as if by biting. For Christ does not bestow His own peace upon those who do not love Him, which indeed is seen to happen primarily to the enemies of the truth, among whom there is not to be found a spiritual anointing, but rather a mutual devouring, so to speak, and fighting, strife, and contention, and schisms. And concerning them God might say: "Because I have removed my peace from this people, and they shall die by a disease-laden death." God provides strength and concord not to those, but to those who worship Him, and those in whom the good of peace rightly resides, who honor the power of the truth, and who, not enduring to be distracted anywhere toward absurd and vain counsels, have instead busied themselves to admire the beauty of the truth. ^D Woe, your vengeances have come, now there shall be their wailings. LXIV. You hear how he also mimics the voices of those who are lamenting, not as those still expecting miseries,

^A but rather as having already occurred to them, and as they wail in a womanly fashion. "For your vengeances have come," he says, which is to say, the time of judgment is at hand, war is in your hands, calamity is at the doors. For in adding, "Now there shall be their wailings," he clearly demonstrates that the predictions of the prophecy are not going to be delayed for long, but lie, as it were, before their very eyes. For immediately after Joatham, there arose Achaz, wicked and an apostate, and a slayer of his own children, whom he consecrated to the altars of demons. ^B During his reign, one hundred and twenty thousand from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin fell in a single day. And it must be noted that at that same time, Israel also paid the penalty. For when Phacee was reigning, Teglathphalasar, king of the Assyrians, went up against Samaria, and destroyed very many of its cities. He also captured Damascus, and slew Rlaason himself, so that it came to pass that at one and the same time both Judah and Benjamin were consumed by the ten tribes of Samaria, and the Samaritans themselves suffered from the Babylonians what they had done. You see, therefore, how he has exacted vengeance upon the sinners by running through, as it were, the canon or rule of the wrath of those who were in the time of the hill, or of the watchtower.

But those things indeed happened to the ancients in a figure, and ^C were written for our admonition, that, fleeing from being caught in the same sins, we might persevere in receiving benefits, keeping the God of all as our benevolent friend and defender. These things will also apply very appropriately to those who distort what is straight and destroy the faith of the more simple, so that we too may be able to say, "Woe, your vengeances have come; now there shall be their wailings." For those who sin against the brethren and strike their weak conscience, sin against Christ. And that they will in every way and altogether render an account to the Judge, and will eat the fruits of their own impiety, how can one doubt? ^D "For those who have wronged the little ones shall be slain, and an inquiry shall destroy the ungodly," as it is written.

VERS. 5, 6. Do not put trust in friends, nor hope in leaders, and from her who sleeps in your bosom, guard yourself, so as not to entrust anything to her. For the son dishonors the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. All the men in his house are enemies.

LXV. Sinning in many ways, and provoking the Lord of all against themselves, the Israelites, then having it foretold through the holy prophets that they would fall into ineluctable miseries unless they chose to bend the Lord to gentleness through good actions—when they ought to have been wise, and by changing their minds for the better to appease the offended One—those wretched ones never did this; but they slid into such foolishness at times that they imagined and believed that they would be superior to the divine wrath, and would be victors in any war whatsoever, if they could have the aid of neighboring nations, and the conspiracies and promises of princes [original-script column: see facsimile]

^A But the prophet endeavors to teach them that they trust in cold and vain delusions, and that their hope is altogether profitless, saying: "Do not believe in friends, and do not hope in leaders." For the matter is slippery, uncertain, and entirely unfruitful. For after the Babylonian arrives to lay waste to Samaria, then, truly then, the leaders of the neighboring nations, even though they promised them the greatest possible aid, being occupied with struggles for their own sake, would think that saving themselves alone was desirable; and as for the necessity of aiding others, perhaps they did not even give it a thought. "Do not therefore trust in friends, and do not hope in leaders." Know, however, he says, that when God moves against us the things of His wrath, not even the law of nature itself, nor the power of innate affection, will grant favor—that is, to those near by blood and related by flesh—but they will even imitate the ferocity of the enemies themselves. A wife will then despise her husband, sons will rise up against their fathers, and daughters even against their mothers. ^B For He, he says, who inscribed the laws of affection upon nature, can easily change his mind and alter it toward unfeelingness. Yet we should understand that the manner of this unfeelingness in us is not one and the same, but twofold and different. For some offend against the laws of affection, impiously opposing their parents; while others do this same thing, and in doing so please God and save their own souls. And so the Savior said: "Do you think that I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. For from now on there will be five divided in one house, three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son, and son against his father, and mother against daughter, and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." ^C With a right judgment, therefore, we shall crown such a notable absence of affection. For it reconciles one to God, even if it cuts off some from the bond of carnal kinship, so that one may even sing very well the words of David: "For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord has taken me up."

"But I will look to the Lord; I will wait for God my Savior. My God will hear me." ^D § 66. One might, and very reasonably, attribute these words to Zion as she repents and looks ahead to the end of the pains of her captivity. For Cyrus took Babylon, and with difficulty released those who were the remnants of Israel, and commanded them to dwell in their native soil and to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. For then, as if escaping from darkness and unbreakable chains, they came into the light, with God showing mercy, and were dismissed to return, with gladness, into their ancient and most properly their own liberty.

^A "I, therefore," it says, "will look towards the Lord." It is very late, and only after experiencing the calamities whose arrival one ought to have prayed against and averted. Nevertheless, it affirms that it is right to place hope in God and to expect salvation from Him, for since He is benign, He will surely hear their lamentations and grant a place for prayers. The beginning of salvation, I think, we may understand to be the act of withdrawing the mind for the time being from that ancient deception, and choosing instead to think rightly, and to deem that the Lord of all is Himself the Author and Dispenser of salvation, and not to attribute such an excellent good to human helps, or, which would be most insane and ignorant, to expect that it will be a gift from the multitude of idols. For of old they used to go down to the Egyptians, and would also depart to the Assyrians, buying their alliances and help for vast sums of money. They used to approach even inanimate idols, offering them sacrifices, and in addition to this, making prayers on their own behalf. ^B But now, they say, they will look to the Lord, and will wait for Him; that is, they will await salvation and grace from Him. And indeed, that they will even be heard by Him—by Him, clearly, and not by others—they offer their supplications. This, as I have said, was the task of a Sion that was returning to health, and already looking toward the resolve to cast off that ancient error, and to adopt better counsels, and to choose to look toward what is useful.

VERS. 8, 9. *Ne gandeas super me, inimica mea, quia cecidi, et resurgam. Quia si sedero in tenebris, Dominus illuminabit me. Iram Domini sustinebo, quia peccavi ei, donec justificet ipse causam meam. Et faciet judicium meum, et educet me in lucem, et videbo justitiam ejus.*

^C LXVII. The discourse of Sion appears to me most festive now, directed against the pitiless, insulting, and arrogant city—Babylon, that is—which was mocking the devastated region of the Jews as if playing. "Do not," it says, "insult me as one lying fallen. For you have conquered, not because you were stronger, but because I offended God; therefore you overthrew me while I was weak and lying fallen. Yet the time will come when I shall rise again, even if I have lived," it says, "in darkness, saying to wood: 'You are my God,' and to stone: 'You gave me birth,' and uttering a word over the calves." ^D For I said, I said in my madness: "These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt." But nevertheless, I shall be in the light again; I shall recognize the Lord the Savior, the Helper, the Provider of strength. I shall endure my misfortunes, and I shall suffer the evils, and I shall by no means cry out against God as one afflicting me unjustly; nay, but rather I shall consider that He has rendered a just verdict against me, even if I have been led away captive. For I have sinned, and I suffer the punishment imposed by the One who is angry, "until He justifies my cause," that is, until, having requited a punishment equal to my sins, He may at last have mercy, and may [enlighten] that which for a long time [has been] darkened by the gloom of error,

through the knowledge of the true and natural God, having prepared it, as it were, to be in the light itself. And it is rightly a matter of wonder, he says, when He displays the sincerity of His own justice toward me. For just as He did not punish him who was sinning without justice, so it is consistent with reason that He should deem her, now afflicted and repenting, worthy of care, and should have mercy upon her as she lies prostrate. Therefore the Lord is good, and to those who convert to Him He distributes mercy without delay, and gladdens them most abundantly with the goods of His own meekness, forgiving thus the things formerly committed so as even to cast away the memory of them.

VERS. 10, 11. *And my enemy shall see, and shall be covered with shame, saying to me: Where is the Lord thy God? My eyes shall look upon her. Now she shall be for a trampling, as mud in the ways. A day of the smearing of brick, thy day shall be a blotting out.*

^B LXVIII. Judea was captured, captured and Israel, subdued by arms, was once led into Babylon and to the Medes, the victor not by his own virtue and power prevailing, but rather as the Savior God, turning away from those bound by sins, did as it were deliver them into the hands of the enemy, because they had not feared to worship inanimate idols, and had rejected the law once given through Moses, and had simply turned aside to every kind of wickedness, and had left no manner of baseness unexperienced. Then the Babylonians, having occupied them, attributed the victory to their own power, and ^C proudly exalted themselves against the glory of God, and they thought they would prevail over Judea, even if the God of all chose to save them. And having taken the sinners into their power, they vexed them, having subjected them to a harsh and intolerable servitude, by unbearable pains. And indeed, God once said through Jeremiah to the impious multitude of the Assyrians, that is, to Babylon: “Behold, I am against thee, O thou haughty one.” And truly also concerning the Israelites themselves: “Behold, I have given them into thy hands, but thou hast not shown them mercy. Thou hast heavily aggravated the yoke of the elder, and hast said: I shall be mistress for ever.” For there was no mercy among them, nor sparing of youth, nor reverence for old age, nor bowels of compassion. Therefore they themselves were justly delivered into the hands of the Persians and of the Medes, under the ^D leadership of Cyrus, who seized Babylon. And perhaps the prophet Jeremiah speaks of him: “They shall fall upon thee, and thou shalt be taken, O Babylon, and thou shalt not know it. Thou wert found, and wert taken, because thou hast resisted the Lord. The Lord hath opened His treasury, and hath brought out the vessels of His wrath.” He calls the destroyers of her the vessels of his wrath. Babylon then happened to be taken by Cyrus, and Israel was released from captivity. Wherefore those who have been redeemed say: “Because my enemy shall see, and shall be covered with shame.” For when she shall see her own children lying upon the ground, and having perished miserably and beyond expectation, those whom she once held in subjection

^A rejoicing and at ease, and those who remained at home fleeting away, how will she not be covered with shame on all sides and entirely, even though she once said, “Where is the Lord your God?” “For I will look upon her as mire in the ways, cast down and trampled under the feet of enemies.” Then the Word says to Babylon herself: “Your destruction is that day,” meaning, the time in which you shall be subjected to the feet of enemies; for Cyrus, he says, will trample and crush the arrogant and insolent woman like mire. So much, then, for the historical understanding of these words, which we have discussed sufficiently and aptly.

Nonetheless, ^B one might also apply these things to the spiritual Sion, that is, the Church, which rises above its enemies, tramples those who persecute it, and derides the weakness of those who are accustomed to war against it, even if at times they seem to be superior and to obtain the victory. For there are very many who impiously gnash their teeth against it, and sharpen their anger, and devise every kind of snare: partly the Greeks, who assail it not moderately with their own foolish inventions and contend sharply for the imposture of idols; and partly the heretics, who speak most against the saints, and perhaps more bitterly against those who have chosen to think correctly than against those who have not even accepted the faith. For when the Almighty God ^C sometimes exercises the saints and tests them with temptations, and tries the true worshipers like gold in the fire, the wretched ones raise their proud eyebrows against them, and seeing them almost succumb to the struggle, they foolishly chant, “Where is the Lord your God?” But the wise and most chaste and holy virgin, who has no spot or wrinkle, will rightly answer: “I, however, will look to the Lord. I will wait for God my Savior, and my God will hear me” (Mich. VII, 7). And she will also trample those who have stood against her as the mire of the ways. And how can there be any doubt that those who are accustomed to tempt her will in no way rejoice over her, even if she has been diminished in some way? For she is founded upon the rock (Matth. VII, 25), and Christ is her support, an immovable foundation, ^D and perpetual security, Savior and Redeemer.

Moreover, she might also say, I think, the words: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy, because I have fallen,” and the things that follow. And the soul of man, when it has sinned and, having been reproved, passes over to repentance and expects the grace of salvation through Christ, will say to sin, whose tyranny it has endured, as to an enemy: “Do not rejoice over me; for I have fallen, having admittedly broken what is pleasing to God, and having lowered my own mind into the pursuit of worldly pleasures; but I am not far from the hope that I shall rise again. Even if I have been for a while in a certain gloom and darkness, I myself too shall find the light, namely Christ, and the Sun of Righteousness, having risen in my mind, will render it cleansed.” “The wrath

^A of the Lord I will bear, because I have sinned against him.” For even if I have been, she says, cast away from his presence for a short time, and have been given over to a reprobate mind, yet I shall not be foolish, and having justly suffered rejection, I will bear the judgment; nay, I even think it has happened to me as it should: for I have not been punished in vain. And since I have paid the most fitting penalty, I shall behold his righteousness. And what, then, could the righteousness of God the Father be, if not Christ? For so God the Father revealed him to us, saying: “My righteousness draws near quickly to come, and my mercy to be revealed.” Then, having somewhere considered the grace of the righteousness in Christ, and the destruction of sin, such a soul will-as is to be expected-wisely and keenly exclaim: “My enemy shall see it, and shall be covered with shame, she who says to me, ‘Where is the Lord your God?’ My eyes shall look upon her; now she shall be for a trampling as mud in the streets.” “A day of the scouring of brick, your abolition is that day.” For ^B since Christ has appeared, justifying the sinful by faith, the mouth of the iniquitous one—sin, that is—has been stopped, and its inventor has been put to shame. And he is indeed driven away, and has lost his dominion over us; but that [sin], as mud in the streets, has henceforth been trampled underfoot, as if subjected to the feet of the saints. And the day of Christ has become the abolition of it, according to which he will render each one who draws near to him pure from old sins through holy baptism, and will seal them with the Spirit for sanctification, and will enroll them in the number of the sons of God. VERSES 11, 13. And that day shall drive away what is lawful. And your cities shall come to leveling, and to the division of the Assyrians. And your fortified cities shall be for division, from Tyre even to the river, and from sea even to sea, and from mountain even to mountain. And the earth shall be for desolation with those who inhabit it, because of the fruits of their pursuits.

^C 69. The person of Sion, or Jerusalem, has been placed in the middle, she who is already—after a fashion—turned toward repentance, and who has placed her hope in God, and who is disposed to believe that she will be redeemed and will see Babylon, which had said to her in haughtiness, “Where is the Lord your God?”, trampled down. But if anyone were to apply the sense of the words set before us not so much to those in the middle, but rather to those a little behind—the nature of these things we shall briefly recall. For it had commanded them not to trust in friends, nor to hope in leaders. It also declared that the husband would be neglected ^D by the wife, and the father by the son, and that daughters would not show any regard for their mother's modesty, as the horrors of war would drive everyone to this. For where the fear of suffering hard things has gripped everyone equally, there it is evident that for each person the care of their own life will be of greater importance; the safety and interests of others [will be] among the last things. At that time, therefore, he says, or on that day on which the sons have cooled in their love toward the father, and likewise the daughters toward the mother, “what is lawful shall be driven away”—that is, the reasons for what is fitting, or for duty, shall then

languish. ^A For a father will not in leisure upbraid a son as one who has neglected the laws of nature, nor will a mother, grieved and beset by other cares—or rather, by destruction and the extremity of evils—impose upon a daughter the penalties resulting from duty. For cities will go off into desolation, into division and overthrow. For some will invade this city, others a neighboring one, others one that borders upon it, and they will overrun the entire region from end to end, from east to west, from north to south, so that they will depopulate everything as far as the furthest borders of the lands, from Tyre to the river, and from mountain to mountain. Furthermore, it is not unreasonable to say that the “lawful” things mentioned here are the festive days customarily assigned to the shrines of idols, or rather, the sacrifices. For since the cities themselves are destroyed and the houses and all things in them have been plundered, who would still fulfill the things that have been prescribed by law, or offer reverence to the shrines and temples of idols?

^B The discourse might also be turned, and most appropriately, to those who think otherwise about religion—those who are wise in their own opinion and judgment and who pervert the correct dogmas of the Church. For “the city has been taken,” and they have become a division for the enemies—clearly, for the “world-rulers of this age”—and they have become the “parts of foxes,” according to what is written, having divided among themselves impiety and the denial of the truth. These same things happened to the peoples of the Jews, because they impiously insulted Emmanuel and cast Him out of the vineyard, according to Scripture, and delivered Him to the cross, even while acknowledging and recognizing that He is the heir. Therefore, they have been plundered and have perished disgracefully, for no other reason than out of the fruits of their own devices. For when they ought to have admired ^C the Creator for the love with which He pursued the world—in that “He gave His only-begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life”—they did the opposite. Instead, out of pride, they killed the Master, returning to Him evil for good, according to what is written, and abominably practicing every kind of impiety. Let them hear, therefore: “Walk in the light of your fire and in the flame which you have kindled.” ^D And also this: “They shall eat the fruits of their own devices.”

VERS. 14, 15. Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine inheritance, dwelling alone in the thicket in the midst of Carmel: they shall feed on Basan and Galaad, as in the days of old, and according to the days of thy coming out of Egypt, ye shall see wonders.

LXX. The discourse fits again with the intermediate sections and inclines toward kindness, urging toward better things and toward a way of life through the hope of the blessings that are understood in Christ.

For he has troubled not a little those who are easily moved to sloth by the prediction of gloomy events, but again, he refreshes them by interposing something very appropriate for cheering them, so that those to whom the word of admonition is addressed, lest they despair, may not be carried toward the rocks, immutably and unbridled. For it is written: “When a sinner comes into a depth of evils, he scorns.” ^A The person of God and the Father Himself is therefore introduced, saying to the Son: “Feed your people with your rod, the sheep of your inheritance.” Or rather, again, the prophetic personage in a way cries out to Emmanuel Himself, that it is necessary to feed with a rod the Jewish people, or lot. But the people of Christ, and indeed also the sheep, might be understood as both those who believed out of the circumcision and those who were called to sanctification from the multitude of the Gentiles. For He created the two peoples into one new man, making peace, and reconciled them both through His own body to spiritual union. And thus, Christ ^B Himself was saying: “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold, and them I must bring, and there shall be one flock, one shepherd.” Therefore, the people of Christ, the tribe and the sheep and the inheritance, are not those who are out of the works of the law, but rather those who are justified by faith. For some were under a curse, according to the voice of the blessed Paul; but these others might say, speaking the truth about themselves: “Blessed are we by the Lord, who made heaven and earth. God is the Lord, and He has shone upon us.” Christ feeds His own with a rod, ^C not striking them with an iron one, and breaking them “as a potter’s vessel,” according to the voice of the Psalmist, but turning them back with gentleness, and as a good shepherd, restraining with moderate fears the impulses toward sloth of those who have believed; for so says the Lord of all somewhere, as if in the person of David fashioning a word concerning His Son: “If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they profane my statutes, and do not keep my commandments, I will visit their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with stripes; but my mercy I will not take away from them.” ^D Therefore, He breaks, as if striking with an iron rod, the unbridled, the disobedient, and the arrogant, and those who do not accept the faith; but He instructs the believers kindly, and pastures them among lilies, and leads them away into good pasture, and into a fertile place, clearly that of the God-inspired Scripture, making manifest through the Spirit to those who are more prudent the things hidden in it, so that they may ascend to a perfect man, and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, having a mind that is rich and well-nourished, and rejoicing in intelligible delights. But the chosen, and those who have separated themselves, and those who have departed from others who only think on the things upon the earth, and magnify the possession of temporal things, and, indulgent in the pleasures of the flesh, are not mediocrely pro-

hanging. Wherefore, possessing a tranquil mind, and freeing it ^A from vain and abominable crowds, we constitute ourselves apart from others, and we live a life worthy of veneration and admiration, and we are set apart, as indeed the prophet Jeremiah was. For he says: "O Lord Almighty, I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, but I feared because of thy hand; I sat alone, for I was filled with bitterness." But we dwell in solitude, as if in a thicket and on a mountain. And by the thicket, which is abundant in wood and flourishing, you will understand the twofold instruction, moral, I say, and dogmatic; and by the mountain, in a certain way, that which is high and sublime within it. For nothing of those things which we philosophize upon, and which are studied in the Church, is humble and depressed. But he indicates that these pastures are fat and suitable for feeding the flock, again by cruder examples, saying that those who are instructed in Christ shall graze in Bashan and Gilead. These are the names of regions providing a very great and wide abundance of fodder for the cattle, and abounding everywhere with a variety of herbs. From corporal things, therefore, and those which strike the senses, we clearly spring forth to spiritual ones, let us consider what lies within: for the mind of the saints, having delicacies in the contemplations of the divine Scripture, shines forth, and is, as it were, replenished with a certain fatness, having obtained by turns an abundance of virtues placed in action and ^B contemplation, as I have said, not for some brief and narrow time, but as the prophet says, "as the days of the age," that is, for a long and infinite time. For things that flatter the flesh fall away with time, and grow withered, and, passing by like shadows, are shortly reduced to nothing; but the participation in celestial and spiritual goods is equated to long ages, the possession of which can never be lost. He adds: "Ye shall see wonders according to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt." Delivering Israel from servitude, the God of all things harassed those who wished to oppress them with various punishments, and vexed them with clay and the work of bricks. Thus He has delivered us who have believed from the hand of the devil, as He Himself says, and He has cast out the prince of this world. And just as Pharaoh was drowned with his forces and perished, so in turn Satan, together with his unclean spirits, has been as it were drowned, and cast into the pits of darkness, that is, into Tartarus. And just as the Israelites were baptized in Moses, yet in the sea and in the cloud; so also we have been baptized in Christ. And this is the cloud, falling under our understanding, which irrigates the whole world as if with certain rains by the evangelical preachings. And just as He sends down to them a supply of waters in the desert, so also He offers Himself to us for food: "The living bread which came down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." And they indeed were being led into the desirable land: but we obtain the supernal city, the heavenly Jerusalem, as an inheritance.

the Church of the firstborn, ^A and the Saviour affirms that this is the land which he also promised to the fathers. Therefore, as from a likeness of the things that of old came to pass in Israel, thou shalt clearly learn the power of the things that have been rightly accomplished in us through Christ. But since it is necessary to provide from every side that which makes for the benefit of the hearers, come, let us also walk another way, taking our beginning from the interpretation of the names. For Carmelus is interpreted as the recognition of circumcision, Basanitis as confusion, and Galaaditis as the changing of the testament. And indeed, the discourse has a very high degree of probability in these matters. We shall therefore be with Christ the shepherd, in the recognition of circumcision, that is to say, that which is understood in the spirit. For we have been circumcised with a circumcision not made by hands, and we bear about the Jew who is in secret, whereas the Israel according to the flesh possesses only the sensible circumcision, and that which is in the letter, and not by any means that which is in the heart through the Spirit. For this is the true circumcision, which makes those who receive it known to God. Therefore also the prophetic word said to us: ^B "Circumcise yourselves to God, and circumcise the hardness of your heart, ye men of Judah, and ye that inhabit Jerusalem." In Carmelus, therefore, we shall be with Christ the shepherd, that is, in the recognition of circumcision; we shall be, however, no less in Basanitis, that is, in confusion and shame, not being reproved for the sin, but because we have sinned, and therefore repenting, and henceforth having a sense of the things committed through ignorance. That matter is a way to salvation. For a manifest proof of the utmost insensibility is that some should choose to live with a heart as it were hardened and impudent, and in no way blush for their own falls; nay, perhaps even lie in ignorance of their own sins. Therefore, those who acknowledge the spiritual and divine circumcision will indeed blush for their own falls, and becoming sensitive to that which is wont to do harm, they will by all means pass over to that which is most fitting for them. Such men shall indeed also be in Galaaditis, that is, in the translation of the legislation, or testament. For we shall live under Christ, no longer as under the law, but we shall live rather ^C as under the Gospel, and passing over the grossness of the letter, we shall perform spiritual worship to God, and being transferred from the lowest parts to the better, we shall exchange the types for the truth.

Ver. 16, 17. They shall see the nations, and shall be confounded in all their strength. They shall lay their hands upon their mouth. Their ears shall be deafened. They shall lick the dust like serpents, drawing the earth. They shall be troubled in their enclosures.

LXXI. By "nations" in these words he understands the abominable and unclean flocks of the demons, which altogether and in every way, when they see those who are called in Christ unto justification, unto sanctification,

unto redemption, unto adoption as sons, unto incorruption, unto a life not harsh but free, are then utterly confounded, ^A beholding their tyranny over them and their own strength failing and growing weak. For our Lord Jesus Christ has given us the power “to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.” Those who formerly conquered, being lazy, have now been broken by Christ. And they will indeed lay their hands upon their mouth, no longer being permitted to accuse those who have sinned. “For it is God who justifies; who is he that condemns?” according to what is written. And the blessed David said somewhere that “all iniquity shall stop its mouth.” They will therefore be silenced, and not of their own will, he says, the terrible ones regarding accusations, and as if struck by thunder at the wonder that is in us, they will be deafened. For the tidings concerning us are extraordinary, and a great and truly supernatural shock, if it be true that “while we were yet sinners, in due time Christ died for the ungodly,” ^B so that we who were formerly entangled in terrible and unbearable transgressions might now be sanctified, and “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but” that those formerly grieved and as far removed from every hope, are now loved by mercy and grace, brilliant and notable, “heirs of God and joint-heirs of Christ.” They will be deafened, therefore, he says, having become all but thunderstruck on account of the serenity of God in our regard, and the excess of His paradoxical goodness. They will lick the dust, crawling upon the earth like serpents, that is to say, they will not find food. ^C For it is a custom for serpents, if they are in need of something to eat, to lick the earth with their tongue, and to consider whatever is at hand as food. They will be, he says, in such lack before the unclean demons. For those who were formerly accustomed to revel in and devour all who are upon the earth will no longer find [food]—not enduring to suffer this, but because they are saved by Christ, and the spiritual strength of those who have been rescued advances, so that they suffer their ancient bites not at all; but they themselves rather ascend above the asp and the basilisk, according to what is written. Not only will they lick the earth, but also they will be confounded in their enclosure; ^D that is, being repressed on account of their infirmities and sufferings, and those who are besieged by the power of the one who overcomes them, I say, will be in no small terrors. It is credible, moreover, that by this, another enclosure is signified to us. For the Only-Begotten, having become like us in countless ways, has worked wondrously, and, I think, performed matters visible and more, I imagine, than those things not seen. For He commands the unclean spirits to descend into the abyss, and to be confined henceforth in the abyss, so that He might deliver the earth from the cruel beasts. [index: entries preserved]

^A And thus the inspired Habakkuk, having contemplated the manner of the Incarnation, cried out clearly: "O Lord, I have heard Thy report, and was afraid; O Lord, I have considered Thy works, and was astonished." For existing in the form and equality of God and the Father, the Only-Begotten, and being rich as God, became poor for our sake, that we might become rich by His poverty; that He might save what was lost, strengthen the weak, bind up that which was broken, bring to life that which was corrupted, cleanse that which was filthy, deliver from judgment that which was condemned, declare blessed that which was cursed, and adorn with the honor of adoption that which was servile by nature. Therefore, let all hear: "Who is a God like unto Thee?" Clearly, He who is good and forgets injuries, releasing the offenses of the remnant of His heritage. And the remnant of His heritage would be understood as those from Israel who believed, the other multitude having clearly been destroyed because they did not believe. For Christ once said: "He that believeth on the Son is not judged; but he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the Son of God." Therefore, He leaps over sins and passes by offenses, and did not hold His anger for a testimony. ^B "For a testimony," here, is used instead of "to the end," or "forever." ^C For we have been cast forth in Adam, but we have been received in Christ. And just as Scripture says, "As by the transgression of one man many died, so by the righteousness of one, the many shall live." He concludes, therefore, concerning His anger, that He desires mercy. In the time of the conversion, that is, of the Incarnation, He drowns all sins as in the sea. Since, He says, He promised to the holy fathers—I mean Abraham and Jacob—to multiply their seed ^D as the stars of heaven, He will give them, he says, the things promised.